Year 2016 is slouching towards its end. It was full of dramatic events, innovation, trauma, new advancements in diverse sectors. Teenagers are becoming an increasingly important demographic these days, thanks to technology, social media, entrepreneurship and opportunities that are at our disposal. Here are some of the most influential teenagers of 2016.
Related Read: 7 Teenagers Making Millions with their Business Ideas
Gaten Matarazzo
Matarazzo gained fame from the famous Netflix series, Stranger Things. Born with a medical condition cleidocranial dysplasia, the 14-year old teenager never shied away and made a name for himself. He knows he is different due to the one-in-a-million condition, but he used his talent and potential to its fullest to become a star.
Malia and Sasha
President Barack Obama’s daughters have proved that they have a spark to work and help others, not because they are the daughters of the POTUS and they get all the fame and limelight, but because they have talent and they use it with humility. Sasha worked with the first lady to promote education in African countries, Liberia and Morocco, whereas Malia took a gap year from Harvard and keep making headlines with her internship projects and endeavors.
Noa Mintz
Noa Mintz started doing businesses when she was 10. Now 16, Mintz is the founder of New York-based childcare company “Nannies by Noa” for families which need help with their children. She is on Forbes’ list of influential teenagers.
Rachel Zietz
Zietz runs a Lacrosse equipment company, Gladiator Lacrosse, which is expected to bypass $2 million sales. Zietz has new ideas for the development of new equipment for the game, like new head safety devices.
Kiara Nirghin
Nirghin is 16 years old. She used to see the destruction of crops due to rain every year in her country, South Africa. She thought about a solution and got an idea: to make superabsorbant polymer (SAP) to make the soil absorb massive amounts of water. Her idea is being lauded globally, and won Google’s Science Fair award. If completed, this project could change the fate of thousands of farmers and millions of people in Africa.
Sumail Hassan
Sumail Hassan is a 17-year old boy originally from Pakistan who started playing video games like Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) and League of Legends when he was 7. Short of money, Sumail sold his bicycle once to get enough money to play video games in a local internet café. Sumail plays Dota2, and has racked millions of dollars from game contests and tournaments. E-Sports company and Dota team Evil Geniuses hired Sumail and put him in their 5 member team for an international match. That’s when the world saw the shear talent and skills of the kid. Sumail recently bought a new house of his family in Illinois.
Gavin Grimm
Gavin Grimm is the person behind the civil liberties discussion recently going on in the US regarding transgender bathrooms. In his school. Grimm was bullied and was denied to use the men’s bathrooms. That’s when he decided to take things to the court and fight for his rights, and for the thousands of people from the transgender community.
Ben Pasternak
Pasternak started his thing by making a YouTube channel of his own in which he showed people new products’ unboxing. He also started making mobile games. He is now the CEO of market app Flogg, and has secured millions in seed funding.
George Matus
Matus has been fond of drones since his early childhood. Now, he is the proud of Teal, a company which makes fast-flying drones. Billionaire investor Peter Thiel has invested a whopping $100,000 through his fellowship program in Matus’ venture. Matus also plans to make mobile apps and advanced drones.
