A tech mogul has shared how he became a millionaire at 17 after teaching himself how to code from YouTube.
Evan Luthra, 27, is now set to become a billionaire by the time he hits 30 and has built and invested in over 300 companies.
Originally from New Delhi, India, the 27-year-old splashes his cash on yacht parties, luxury properties and even plans to buy his own helicopter just for the thrill of it.
The influencer, who has 2.3 million Instagram followers (@evanluthra) also recently purchased £2.2 million worth of NFTs for the “flex” – calling the digital art the “new Rolex” for wealthy people.
However, amongst the glitz and glamor of his new lifestyle, Evan said he had to work his way to the top – emerging from “humble beginnings” as he learned how to code.
Evan said: “I was bitten by the ‘digital bug’ aged around 12 when I started playing around on the computers in my dad’s call center in India.
“I bought 200 computers and I really pushed the machines to the limits by building microcomputers, really hitting the processor hard and trying new programs.
“I started taking them apart to learn how they worked then I began looking into code.”
The tech-mogul claims he made his fortune by creating apps and websites and selling them for a profit.
He worked with popular shows like Two And A Half Men and Gossip Girl, as well as the ICC Cricket World Cup.
And by the age of 15, millions of people were using the apps that he had created.
MILLIONAIRE MOGUL
As he began to gain a global audience, Evan, who was making a name for himself on the digital scene, was phoned up by the late CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs.
The CEO, who died in 2011 from pancreatic cancer, reached out to the then “starstruck” teenager to give him advice on Apple’s app store.
“I was a young from India and didn’t have that much experience at the time and here I was, talking to Steve Jobs.
“He had a group call with all the early developers and asked us for feedback and what we actually thought about the app store. He also shared some advice with us for our own businesses.”
Two years later, Evan joined the big leagues as he sold his company – which had developed over 30 apps – for several millions.
He was just 17 years old at the time.
Evan said: “A lot of people doubted me and said I wouldn’t do well but when my company sold for seven figures, I got my revenge.”
These days, he splits his time between India, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and St Kitts and Nevis, and makes most of his cash comes from trading cryptocurrency as the founder of StartupStudio.online.
The risks of buying with cryptocurrencies
Investing and making a purchase in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin is risky.
Their value is highly volatile and City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority has warned investors should be prepared to lose all their money.
Investing in cryptocurrencies is not a guaranteed way to make money.
You should also think carefully about making purchases with a cryptocurrency.
For example, Bitcoin has had wild price fluctuations in recent months and the price can change on an almost hourly basis.
The price of a Bitcoin was at $40,258 on January 9, according to Coindesk, but fell to $34,214 just three days later.
That’s a 15% drop.
These price swings are risky for a business as you could sell an item for a Bitcoin at one price and the value may drop soon after, leaving you with less money from a sale.
Similarly, the price of Bitcoin has soared by more than 21% since the start of this week so it can be hard for a shopper to get an accurate idea of the price of an item if its value changes on a daily basis.
But, although Evan has built a fortune from his trading skills, buying any cryptocurrency is incredibly risky.
With any investment, there is a risk that the value of your money could go down as well as up. That means you should only invest money you can afford to lose.
Crypto can be riskier than other investments because they are volatile and speculative – their price often rising and falls very quickly, sometimes seemingly for not reason.
Many cryptocurrencies have a short track record, making them difficult to understand and predict.
This type of investment is also not protected by the regulator which means you have no protection if things go wrong.
The UK regulator has warned that Brits risk losing ALL of their money if they invest in cryptocurrencies.
If you are considering investing in any type of crypto, do your research first and only invest money you can afford to lose.
Be wary of scams, too, as the crypto market is often a target for fraud.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission.