This billionaire founder made his first million at 27—years before Warren Buffett. His advice to Gen Z: Don’t ask for a raise, ask for equity

Picture this: you’ve just been offered a job after endless rounds of interviews and tests, when the interviewer asks, “What are your salary requirements?” According to one billionaire, the number you should be asking for isn’t a salary at all.

Dylan Taylor, the founder of space-tech company Voyager Technologies, became a millionaire at 27—five years before Warren Buffett hit the same milestone. His advice for Gen Z hoping to grow their wealth in the current economy? Stop negotiating for a bigger paycheck, and start negotiating for equity instead.

“I think it’s very difficult to make a lot of money working for somebody,” Taylor tells Fortune. “There’s two different ways to make money: income and equity. Whether you’re an employee or a founder, I think you should push for more equity and less income. That’s really what compounds over time.”

It’s advice Taylor took himself, long before he made his fortune in space. “I always wanted equity as opposed to higher base salary,” he says of the employment deals he negotiated early in his career. “I think that ended up being very wise.”

It did indeed. Taylor made his millions running public companies across electronics, finance and banking, while also investing in real estate and various companies including Robinhood, Relativity Space, and Calm. 

Now, thanks to the return on investments he made from his twenties and Voyager’s IPO, he’s a........

© Fortune