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Baiju Bhatt an Indian-American entrepreneur has been named one of the 10 youngest billionaires in the United States on the 2025 Forbes 400 list. He is the only person of Indian origin on the list. Bhatt 40 co-founded Robinhood a popular stock trading app that made investing simple and commission-free. His success places him alongside other young billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg (41) and Luke Walton (38). Most of Bhatt’s wealth comes from his ownership stake in Robinhood which has given millions of small investors easy access to stock and crypto trading. Who is Baiju Bhatt? Baiju Prafulkumar Bhatt was born into a Gujarati family in the U.S. His parents were Indian immigrants. The family first moved to Alabama when his father came to pursue a PhD. Bhatt later grew up in Poquoson Virginia. He was a bright student and studied physics at Stanford University. In 2008 he also completed a master’s in mathematics. In 2013 he co-founded Robinhood with his Stanford friend Vlad Tenev. Robinhood went public in 2021 with a valuation of USD 32 billion and Bhatt still owns about 6 per cent of the company. He served as co-CEO until 2020 then became chief creative officer before stepping down from that role in March 2024. Today he continues to serve on Robinhood’s board. According to Forbes Bhatt’s net worth is USD 6.9 billion making him one of America’s richest entrepreneurs. Financial Struggles of Baiju Bhatt In a conversation with Shawn Ryan Baiju Bhatt opened up about the tough times his family went through when he was young. He said that his father was diagnosed with kidney failure when Bhatt was only five years old. The high cost of medical care put a huge strain on the family’s finances. Because of these challenges the family could not afford to travel to India. Bhatt remembered that his last visit was in 1997. We were not terribly well-to-do. My dad was on dialysis. I was just a little kid” Bhatt said. Nearly three decades later Bhatt has reached an extraordinary milestone - becoming the only Indian-origin entrepreneur on Forbes’ list of the youngest billionaires in America. Building Robinhood During his time at Stanford Baiju Bhatt met Vlad Tenev who later became his business partner. In 2013 the two launched Robinhood an app that changed the way people trade stocks in the U.S. Their goal was simple - make investing accessible to everyone by removing commission fees. The app quickly became popular especially during the pandemic when many new investors entered the market. Bhatt first led the company as co-CEO until 2020. After that he worked as Chief Creative Officer before stepping down from his executive role in 2024. Even though he left day-to-day management he continues to sit on Robinhood’s board and still owns 6 per cent of the company. That stake alone has made him worth around USD 6 billion according to Forbes. Robinhood’s success has grown rapidly. In 2024 the company recorded USD 3 billion in revenue driven by strong demand for cryptocurrency trading and new features like retirement accounts and high-interest savings. Over the past year its stock price has jumped 400 per cent making it one of the fastest-growing fintech firms in the world.