Meet the sisters who are the world's youngest billionaires
Given that the average age of a billionaire is 63 years old, the world's youngest members of the club stand out for their age alone.
At 19, Alexandra Andresen isn't old enough to drink legally in the U.S., but she's entered the ranks of the world's wealthiest thanks to a $1.2 billion inheritance, according to Forbes Magazine annual list of the world's richest people. Her sister, Katharina, 20, is the second-youngest billionaire in the world with an equal fortune of $1.2 billion.
The Andresen sisters are unusual not only for their age, but also their gender, given females comprise just 11 percent of the 1,810 billionaires on Forbes' list. They owe their fortunes to their father's decision in 2007 to transfer a 42 percent stake in their family's private-investment firm to each of his daughters.
Inheritance remains a well-worn pathway to the billionaire class, with the high-net-worth consulting firm Wealth X finding that about 40 percent of the world's richest people received their wealth through family gifts, while 60 percent are self-made. Younger billionaires are more likely to reach their elite status through inheritances, however, with Forbes noting that billionaires under 40 are split between those with self-made fortunes and those who benefited from family money.
So where does the Andresens' fortune come from? Ferd, her family's investment company, which means "journey" in Norwegian. The roots of the family's fortune go back to 1849, when one of their forebears bought a tobacco company to add to his shipping and investment business. That investment became the biggest cigarette maker in Norway.
Ferd sold its stake in the tobacco business in 2005, which allowed it to exit the controversial industry and free up capital to reinvest in other industries. The firm is now operated as holding company with six business areas, including hedge funds and real estate.
Alexandra, the younger sister, competes in dressage, an equestrian event where riders and their horses are judged on movement and level of training. She's taken awards in many competitions, such as earning silver at the 2014 European Junior Riders Championships. Her Instagram feed is filled with shots of horses and dogs, as well as memes about animals and veganism (she counts herself as one.)
While the sisters grew up in one of the world's wealthiest families, Alexandra told the company's corporate magazine that she is obsessive about saving. The sisters also attended public school in Oslo and drove second-hand cars, according to The Telegraph.
"I actually save all the time, I have always done," Alexandra told Ferd's corporate magazine, according to The Telegraph. "I save when I get my weekly allowance, and I save the cash prizes I win in competitions or if I get money as a gift for my birthday. It means I can buy myself things I really want, like a bag or a pair of shoes, without having to ask mum or dad for money."
Alexandra appears focused on equine competitions, telling Eurodressage magazine last year, "This is what I want to do the rest of my life, ride!"
Katharina is currently a student Amsterdam University College, where she studies social sciences. Whether either sister gets involved in the family business remains unclear, with their father telling a Norwegian newspaper last year that he's giving them the opportunity to "choose as people and not as pre-programmed robots."