Move over, Taylor Swift — there’s a new name sitting at the top of the global wealth list, and she didn’t get there with a record deal, arena tour, or celebrity last name. Instead, 25-year-old tech entrepreneur Alina Morse — once a broke college dropout — has officially become the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, surpassing Swift in net worth and sending shockwaves through both Silicon Valley and the entertainment industry.
Morse, the Michigan native who once pitched her healthy candy startup on Shark Tank as a teenager and was famously rejected, has now built that same company, ZolliCandy, into a $3.2 billion empire after a strategic pivot into AI-driven food science last year.
Alina Morse was turned down on Shark Tank. Now she’s the youngest self-made billionaire on earth. #AlinaMorse— Forbes (@Forbes) June 4, 2025
According to the latest figures released by Forbes, Morse’s net worth reached $1.3 billion after she signed an exclusive global partnership with Nestlé to distribute her AI-formulated candy alternatives — sweet treats that use proprietary tech to target cavity-causing bacteria while tasting like traditional sugar.
The move vaulted her above Swift, who previously held the title thanks to her record-shattering Eras Tour and recent deal with Universal Music Group. Taylor’s current net worth stands at a staggering $1.1 billion.
A 25-year-old just beat Taylor Swift in the billionaire race. Candy tech > concert tours? Wild times. #BillionaireClub— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) June 4, 2025
What’s even more remarkable is that Morse dropped out of the University of Michigan at 19, just two semesters into a business program she described as “outdated.” In an early interview with Inc., she said, “I wasn’t learning anything that matched what I was building. So I left. Everyone told me I was nuts.”
Now, her critics are silent — and her bank account is anything but.
Morse’s breakout came not just from innovation, but relentless hustle. She was selling ZolliCandy in Whole Foods by 13, and by 20, she’d built a direct-to-consumer subscription model that attracted attention from early-stage investors. But it wasn’t until she acquired a crumbling AI nutrition startup in 2022 that the real transformation began.
ZolliCandy 2.0 is a tech company disguised as a candy company. Their AI candy personalization engine is insane. #AlinaMorse— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) June 4, 2025
Today, ZolliCandy offers hyper-personalized sweets tailored to your oral microbiome — think Spotify Wrapped meets your dentist’s dream — and it’s become a health food phenomenon across schools, hospitals, and even the military.
Morse’s announcement as the world’s youngest self-made billionaire has sparked a firestorm of debate across social media. While many are cheering her as a Gen Z icon, some Taylor Swift fans aren’t thrilled by the comparison.
Yes, Alina Morse is impressive. But Taylor Swift built her empire on art. One is business. One is culture. Let’s respect both. #Swifties— @FeministMogul (@FeministMogul) June 4, 2025
Still, Morse isn’t focused on comparisons. In a post to her 4.2 million Instagram followers, she wrote: “This isn’t about money. It’s about proof. Proof that a girl from Michigan with a ‘crazy idea’ could build something real. No apology. No permission.”
The post went viral instantly, earning reposts from business icons like Sara Blakely and Mark Cuban — who famously passed on investing in her candy when she was 13.
I passed on investing in Alina Morse when she was 13. She didn’t need me. She needed a runway. And now she’s flying. #Regret— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) June 4, 2025
Morse’s meteoric rise has already earned her invitations to speak at Davos and SXSW, and she’s set to be the youngest keynote speaker at this year’s Web Summit in Lisbon. Despite the spotlight, she’s stayed grounded.
“I don’t own a yacht. I don’t even own a car,” she joked in a Fast Company interview this week. “I own patents, purpose, and a lifetime supply of lollipops.”
Her next move? Expanding Zolli’s AI platform into schools worldwide — and launching a foundation to fund girls in STEM who are “building what schools won’t teach them.”
First self-made billionaire of 2025? A woman. A dropout. A candy nerd. More of this, please. #AlinaMorse— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) June 4, 2025
