Three Irish tech titans have made Forbes magazine's '30 under 30' – a list of young disruptors, innovators and entrepreneurs that are changing the world.
Limerick brothers John and Patrick Collison and CoderDojo's James Whelton were all included in the list, which is one of the most famous in business.
The Collison brothers set up online payments firm Stripe to make online payments easier in a market where options for online sellers are limited. The firm is valued at about $500 million.
The brothers already have a successful track record in the technology industry having established Auctomatic, a company that manages inventory for sites like eBay, before selling it to a Canadian firm in 2008 for a reported $5 million.
Mr Whelton (20) set up the computer-programming club CoderDojo while still in secondary school. There are now clubs in 22 countries, with 10,000 children learning how to develop websites, games and apps each week.
Also featured on the list is Jonathon Cloonan of GroupM advertisers. The 27-year-old Dubliner is responsible for brokering multi-million-dollar TV format deals such as Masterchef Thailand and is the youngest named account director in the Asian arm of GroupM APAC's branded-content unit.
The four young Irishmen join singers Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber, actresses Ashley and May Kate Olsen and fashion designer Alexander Wang, who is the newly appointed creative director at French fashion house Balenciaga, on the list.
"This is a celebration of youthful ambition and success. These are really amazing people and they are doing amazing things. It makes you very hopeful about the world," Michael Noer, the executive editor of Forbes, said.
Those featured on the Forbes list are considered the top 30 achievers in 15 categories ranging from education, energy, music, science and healthcare to sports, technology games and apps and marketing.
Some are returnees to the list that was launched last year - like British singer Adele, the 24-year-old multiple Grammy Award winner, and American entrepreneur Kevin Systrom.
Mr Noer said there has been a 60 per cent turnover since 2011, so there are plenty of new faces on the list drawn up by Forbes staff and industry experts.
Additional reporting: Reuters
