Ranked: The 50 Highest-Paid Creators in 2026

How Countries Compare on Tax Revenue

Tax revenue varies dramatically around the world, reflecting differences in tax systems, economic development, and other sources of government income.

Using the latest data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), this graphic compares tax revenue as a share of GDP across countries in 2024.

Compare your country with its peers in the final table on this page.

Where Governments Rely Most on Taxes

Among wealthy economies, the differences are substantial. Denmark collects tax revenue equal to 45.3% of GDP, versus roughly 29% in Canada and Australia and just 19.5% in the United States.

These differences partly reflect how countries structure their tax systems and fund public services.

Nordic countries generally have broad tax bases that help finance extensive public programs, while the U.S. relies more heavily on private spending in areas such as healthcare and retirement.

The World’s Least Taxed Countries

At the other end of the ranking, oil-rich economies sit alongside some of the world’s poorest countries. Both collect relatively little in taxes, but for very different reasons.

For major oil producers, natural resources provide an alternative source of government revenue. Kuwait collects just 1.4% of GDP in taxes, while Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman are all below 5%.

In lower-income countries, low tax collections can instead reflect large informal economies and limited tax-collection capacity. Similar tax levels can therefore result from resource wealth in one country and difficulty raising revenue in another.

America’s Growing Tax and Spending Gap

The U.S. occupies an interesting position in the global comparison. Its tax take is lower than that of many other advanced economies, while federal spending is projected to remain substantially higher than federal revenues.

In 2026, federal spending is projected at 23.3% of GDP, versus revenues of 17.5%. By 2036, those figures are projected to reach 24.4% and 17.8%, respectively. Meanwhile, net interest is projected to more than double to $2.1 trillion, nearly matching all federal discretionary spending.

This leaves a persistent gap between what the federal government collects and what it spends, while a growing share of the budget goes toward servicing past borrowing.

Tax Revenue Around the World

Countries’ tax revenues vary based on development levels, institutional capacity, tax systems, and resource wealth. The table below lists countries worldwide by tax revenue as a percentage of GDP in 2024.

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To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic breaking down income tax revenue by wealth bracket in America.

Ranked: The 10 Youngest U.S. Billionaires on the Forbes 400

Artificial intelligence isn’t just creating some of America’s most valuable startups. It’s also creating a new generation of billionaires.

The 2026 Forbes 400 includes founders and executives behind Anthropic, OpenAI, Surge AI, and Cognition among its youngest members, highlighting how quickly AI wealth has risen into the upper ranks of America’s richest people.

This visualization ranks the 10 youngest members of the Forbes 400 by age and shows the companies behind their fortunes.

Net worth figures are as of Sept. 4, 2026, and a fortune of at least $4.4 billion was required to make this year’s Forbes 400.

How AI Is Reshaping America’s Youngest Billionaires

The youngest person in the group is 30-year-old Steven Hao, cofounder of AI coding company Cognition, with an estimated fortune of $5.8 billion.

At the other end of the ranking, several billionaires are 39 years old, including Walmart heir Lukas Walton and Anthropic cofounders Daniela Amodei and Tom Brown.

Seven names on the list made their fortunes in AI. The remaining fortunes come from Walmart, fintech company Robinhood, and defense technology company Anduril.

Four Anthropic Cofounders Are Worth $15.5 Billion Each

Anthropic accounts for four of the 10 youngest billionaires: Sam McCandlish, Jack Clark, Daniela Amodei, and Tom Brown.

Forbes estimates that each holds a stake worth $15.5 billion, putting their combined fortunes at roughly $62 billion. The four range in age from 36 to 39.

Other AI fortunes include OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman, whose estimated net worth stands at $25.5 billion, Surge AI founder Edwin Chen at $18 billion, and Cognition cofounder Steven Hao at $5.8 billion.

Most of These Fortunes Are Tied to Private Companies

Another defining feature of the ranking is how much of the wealth comes from private companies. Eight of the 10 fortunes are based on private-company stakes valued using recent funding rounds, according to the source note accompanying the Forbes data.

Unlike public stocks, private companies don’t have continuously traded market prices. New funding rounds can reset company valuations and significantly change the estimated paper wealth of major shareholders.

That dynamic is especially important for privately held AI companies, where rising valuations have created multibillion-dollar fortunes well before many of these businesses have reached the public markets.

The Only Heir Is Also the Richest

For all the new wealth being created in technology, the richest person in the ranking represents a much older source of billionaire wealth.

At 39, Lukas Walton has an estimated net worth of $44.4 billion stemming from retail giant Walmart. He is the only person among the 10 whose fortune is identified as inherited.

His fortune also stands above every individual AI billionaire shown.

The ranking captures two very different paths to extreme wealth within the same generation: a decades-old retail fortune at the top and a wave of newer fortunes built around some of the world’s fastest-growing technology companies.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World’s Richest Person Every Year Since 1987 on Voronoi, the app from Visual Capitalist.