Birthday twins
May 21 is the birthday of 44 notable people we've found so far, including historical figures, politicians, authors and scientists, and 4 of them are billionaires.
What the data says
American businessman
1931–2021 · United States
$4.2Bolder estimate, as of September 2021 · Forbes
American businessman (1931–2021)
Reported estimate as of September 2021: $4.2B. Wealth changes; this is not a live figure.
Against the other 365
Ranks compare all 366 dates in the dataset; ties share a rank. See every May birthday · battle May 21 against another date · all rankings
The May 21 wealth profile
Ranked by the low end of each reported estimate; bars use a log scale.
Singapore businessman
1953 · Singapore
$1.8Bolder estimate, as of 2024 · Forbes
Peter Lim Eng Hock is a Singaporean business magnate who was a stockbroker and an investor in palm oil, and is now a private investor focused on healthcare, property, sports, and education.
Anilmurthy1973, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Entrepreneur
1919–2013 · United States
$1.6Bolder estimate, as of 2004 · Forbes
George Phydias Mitchell was an American businessman, real estate developer and philanthropist from Texas credited with pioneering the economic extraction of shale gas.
Entrepreneur
1995 · Norway
$1.2Bolder estimate, as of November 2017 · Forbes
Katharina Gamlemshaug Andresen is a Norwegian heiress, and as of 2020, the world's third-youngest billionaire as reported by Forbes.
Entrepreneur
1898–1990 · United States
$200Molder estimate, as of 1986 · Forbes
Armand Hammer was an American oil tycoon, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
FDR Presidential Library & Museum, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Who shares May 21
Share of the 44 people we list, by documented field. People can belong to more than one.
Countries
Citizenship as recorded on Wikidata, one country per person.
Life timeline
Dated milestones from Wikidata (company foundings, awards, top jobs, notable works), placed at the age each person reached them. Add your birth year above to see the ones you have passed.
The standouts
Ordered by sourced wealth, then documented achievement and coverage.
Top tier
Actor
1952 · United States
Laurence T is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III.
Miguel Discart, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Top tier
Politician
1921–1989 · Soviet Union
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet physicist and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, which he was awarded in 1975 for emphasizing human rights around the world.
Vladimir Fedorenko / Владимир Федоренко, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Top tier
Inventor
1860–1927 · Kingdom of the Netherlands
Willem Einthoven was a Dutch medical doctor and physiologist. He invented the first practical electrocardiograph in 1895 and received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1924 for it.
Leiden University Library, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Top tier
German American biologist
1936–2018 · United States
Günter Blobel was a Silesian German and American biologist and 1999 Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology for the discovery that proteins have intrinsic signals that govern their transport and localization in the cell.
Masur, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Top tier
Politician
1843–1914 · Switzerland
Charles Albert Gobat was a Swiss lawyer, educational administrator, and politician who jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize with Élie Ducommun in 1902 for their leadership of the Permanent International Peace Bureau.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Top tier
Scientist
1934–2024 · Sweden
Bengt Ingemar Samuelsson was a Swedish biochemist. He shared with Sune K. Bergström and John R. Vane the 1982 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discoveries concerning prostaglandins and related substances.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Builders
Entrepreneur · Curtiss · manufacturing
1878–1930 · United States
Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles.
Unknown authorUnknown author (Bain News Service)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Entrepreneur
1974 · Mexico
José Eduardo Verastegui is a Mexican actor, former singer, producer, and political activist.
Vox España, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Entrepreneur
1953 · United States
Robert Frank Agostinelli is an American billionaire financier who is the chairman and co-founder of private equity firm Rhône Group. Forbes estimates Agostinelli's net worth to be $1.0 billion, ranking him as the 416th richest American.
NWCF342, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Entrepreneur
1974 · Russia
Alexey Yurievich Khotin is a Russian businessman of Belarusian origin. He is one of the wealthiest individuals in Russia, and in 2016 Forbes magazine ranked him 95th in its list of the top 100 richest Russians.
May 21 in history
Events from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
More birthday twins
Actor
1966 · United States
Lisa Edelstein is an American actress and artist. She is known for playing Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the Fox medical drama series House (2004–2011). Between 2014 and 2018, Edelstein starred as Abby McCarthy in the Bravo series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce.
Christopher Peterson // Recadré par Kyro, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Actor
1917–1993 · Canada
Raymond William Stacy Burr was a Canadian actor who had a lengthy Hollywood film career and portrayed the title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside.
NBC TV, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Actor
1986 · United States
Da'Vine Joy Randolph is an American actress. She has earned various accolades including an Academy Award, British Academy Film Award and Golden Globe Award, alongside nominations for a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Creator
1994 · United Kingdom
Thomas Robert Daley is an English retired diver, YouTuber and television personality.
Jim Thurston, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Musician
1980 · Belgium
Wouter André "Wally" De Backer, known professionally as Gotye, is a Belgian-born Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Politician
1955 · Russia
Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as secretary of the Security Council since 2024. He served as Minister of Defence of Russia from 2012 to 2024.
Пресс-служба Президента Российской Федерации, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Athlete
1986 · Croatia
Mario Mandžukić is a Croatian football coach and a former player who was most recently an assistant coach for the Croatian national team. As a player, he played as a forward and was known for his aggressiveness, defensive contribution, and aerial prowess.
Антон Зайцев, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Artist
1849–1928 · France
Édouard-Henri Avril was a French painter and commercial artist. Under the pseudonym Paul Avril, he was an illustrator of erotic literature. Avril was a soldier before starting his career in art; he was awarded the Legion of Honour for his actions in the Franco-Prussian War.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Artist
1844–1910 · France
Henri Julien Félix Rousseau was a French post-Impressionist painter in the Naïve or Primitive manner. He was also known as Le Douanier, a humorous description of his occupation as a toll and tax collector.
Dornac, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Musician
1904–1943 · United States
Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the stride style were widely influential among musicians.
New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer: Fisher, Alan, photographer., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Politician
1914–1980 · France
Romain Gary, also known by the pen name Émile Ajar, was a Lithuanian-born French novelist, diplomat, film director, and military aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt twice.
Chief executive · Twitter · technology
1984
Parag Agrawal is an Indian software engineer and businessman who was the CEO of Twitter, Inc. from November 2021 to October 2022.
icpcnews icpcnews, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Politician
1775–1840 · France
Lucien Bonaparte, 1st Prince of Canino and Musignano, was a French politician and diplomat of the French Revolution and the Consulate. He served as Minister of the Interior from 1799 to 1800 and as the president of the Council of Five Hundred in 1799.
François-Xavier Fabre, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Politician
1759–1820 · France
Joseph Fouché, 1st Duke d'Otrante, 1st Count Fouché was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte. Fouché later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon.
Claude-Marie Dubufe / After René Théodore Berthon, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Creator
1916–1997 · United States
Harold Robbins was an American author. One of the best-selling writers of all time, he wrote over 25 best-sellers, selling over 750 million copies in 32 languages.
Rob Croes for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Athlete
1970 · Serbia
Rade Bogdanović is a Serbian football pundit and former professional player who played as a striker.
Author
1957 · United States
Seth Andrew Klarman is an American billionaire investor, hedge fund manager, and author. He is a proponent of value investing. He is the chief executive and portfolio manager of the Baupost Group, a Boston-based private investment partnership he founded in 1982.
Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Politician
1936–2024 · Malaysia
Abdul Taib bin Mahmud was a Malaysian politician who served as the seventh Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak from 2014 to 2024.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Executive
1981 · Czech Republic
Zdeněk Hřib is a Czech healthcare manager and politician, who has served as chair of the Czech Pirate Party since November 2024, and served as the Mayor of Prague from November 2018 to February 2023.
Inventor
1873–1941 · German Reich
Hans Berger was a German psychiatrist.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Musician
1997 · Nigeria
Joseph Akinwale Akinfenwa-Donus, known professionally as Joeboy, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He is signed to Warner Music Africa in partnership with his record label, Young Legend.
Ayomide7, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Author
1855–1916 · Belgium
Émile Adolphe Gustave Verhaeren was a Belgian poet and art critic who wrote in the French language. He was one of the founders of the school of Symbolism and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature on six occasions.
Théo van Rysselberghe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Author
1817–1881 · Kingdom of Saxony
Rudolf Hermann Lotze was a German philosopher and logician. He also had a medical degree and was well versed in biology.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Politician
1906–1985 · Soviet Union
Sergei Apollinariyevich Gerasimov was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. The oldest film school in the world, the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK), bears his name.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Athlete
1987 · Japan
Masato Morishige is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back, captain and currently play for J1 League club, FC Tokyo.
yoppy from Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Athlete
1962 · Germany
Uwe Rahn is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward.
Athlete
1992 · Japan
Shoma Doi is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for J2 League club Montedio Yamagata. He has 2 caps for the Japan national football team.
Mehdi Bolourian/Fars News Agency, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Athlete
1979 · Japan
Hideo Hashimoto is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
TAKA@P.P.R.S, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
White-lead manufacturer and art collector
1809–1878 · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
White-lead manufacturer and art collector (died 1878), built Beaulieu house in Hastings
This page lists 44 people born on May 21, every one traced to a Wikidata record and, where shown, a Wikipedia summary (CC BY-SA) and a licensed Wikimedia Commons photo. 5 of them carry a dated net-worth estimate citing Forbes or Bloomberg; combined wealth is the sum of the low end of those estimates, the newest as of 2024. Rankings compare all 366 dates in the dataset built on 2026-09-28. Milestone ages come from dated Wikidata statements; a tilde marks year-only dates. Nothing on this page is a prediction about anyone born on May 21. Read the full methodology.
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