Polymarket founder becomes the youngest self-made billionaire tracked by Bloomberg Index.

On October 9, Bloomberg reported that 27-year-old Shayne Coplan, founder of the prediction market platform Polymarket, has entered the ranks of billionaires with a pre-financing valuation of $8 billion after securing a maximum $2 billion investment from the parent company of the New York securities trading platform, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). Coplan had previously sold apartment items to make rent due to financial difficulties. Inspired by economist Robin Hanson's prediction market theory, he began building Polymarket in his bathroom in 2019 and officially launched it in June 2020. Despite facing regulatory restrictions early on for operating an unregistered trading platform and even being searched by the FBI, Polymarket has now attracted Wall Street giants due to the explosive growth of the prediction market. A spokesperson for Polymarket declined to comment.