Indian-American entrepreneur Baiju Bhatt has secured a spot on the Forbes 400 list as one of the ten youngest billionaires in the United States for 2025. At 40, Bhatt is not only the youngest Indian-origin member of this elite group but also renowned for co-founding the trailblazing stock trading app, Robinhood, which has dramatically influenced the fintech landscape in America.
Early life and family background
Bhatt was born in Virginia to Gujarati immigrant parents who moved to the United States after his father was accepted for a PhD program at the University of Huntsville, Alabama. The family settled in the small town of Poquoson, Virginia. From an early age, Bhatt was academically inclined and later studied physics at Stanford University, eventually earning his master’s degree in mathematics from the same institution in 2008. Yet, growing up was far from easy.
Bhatt’s father was diagnosed with kidney failure when Baiju was only five, triggering a prolonged period of financial hardship as medical expenses mounted. His father had to abandon his academic ambitions and take up employment, and the family’s financial constraints made even visits back to India impossible after 1997.
Robinhood: The startup journey
It was at Stanford that Bhatt met Vlad Tenev, with whom he would co-found Robinhood in 2013. The platform was designed to democratize finance, allowing commission-free stock and cryptocurrency trading and breaking down barriers for smaller investors. Robinhood’s mobile-first, user-centered design approach quickly won acclaim, even earning an Apple Design Award in 2015. Bhatt initially focused on product and design development, stressing direct user research to continually improve the app.
Robinhood’s rise was meteoric. The app went public in 2021 during a pandemic-fueled trading boom and saw its stock jump by 400% in the past year, buoyed by a spike in crypto transactions, new financial products such as IRAs and high-yield savings accounts, and record revenues of $3 billion in 2024. Forbes currently values Bhatt’s net worth at $6 billion, attributable primarily to his 6% equity stake in Robinhood.
Career evolution and new ventures
Bhatt served as Robinhood’s co-CEO until 2020, after which he became chief creative officer. He stepped down from his executive role in 2024 but remains on the company’s board. His continuing influence ensures Robinhood’s lasting impact on U.S. financial services. In October 2024, Bhatt launched Aetherflux, a space-based solar energy startup aiming to beam energy collected in space back to Earth, reflecting his broader interests and investments in technology and sustainability.
Personal philosophy and impact
Bhatt’s journey from financial struggle to billionaire status stands as a testament to the power of perseverance and innovation. He has frequently spoken about how witnessing his family’s adversity fueled his ambition and informed his inclusive vision for Robinhood: to make investing accessible for all. Today, Bhatt’s legacy is one of resilience and vision, symbolizing a new generation of Indian-American entrepreneurs reshaping the future of wealth and technology in the U.S..
