A millennial defense chief has racked up more wealth in the first few weeks of 2026 than anyone except Elon Musk.
Michal Strnad, 33, has grown $22 billion richer since the start of January, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows. Only the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who is up $70 billion year to date, has built more wealth over that period.
Strnad’s net worth has soared 150% to $37 billion in less than a month, vaulting him into 64th place on the rich list. He’s now wealthier than Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin, SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son, and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.
His wealth surge was sparked by the listing of his company, Czechoslovak Group, in Amsterdam on Friday. CSG secured a public valuation north of $30 billion with Strnad selling about $3 billion worth of his shares in the IPO, paring his ownership from virtually 100% to 85%.
As a defense executive in his 30s, Strnad stands out among the 10 greatest wealth gainers this year, many of whom are much older and have software fortunes. That list includes Interactive Brokers founder Thomas Peterffy, 81, and Alphabet cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both 52.
Bloomberg updated Strnad’s net worth based on his CSG stake. It previously relied on CSG’s financials and its defense peers’ valuation multiples.
Strnad took over the family business
CSG’s website shows it started as Excalibur Army, a company founded by Strnad’s father in 1995 to manufacture land equipment for military, police, and emergency services.
Strnad joined the business in 2011, became CEO in 2013, and took ownership in 2018. He has broadened CSG’s focus and footprint: it now employs over 14,000 people across eight countries and operates in the auto, aerospace, railway, and defense industries.
CSG has expanded largely through acquisitions, including Tatra Trucks, shotgun-maker Perazzi, and The Kinetic Group, which owns the Federal and Remington ammo brands.
Strnad’s company also owns a training academy for helicopter pilots and ground personnel in Slovakia, runs a munitions plant in Spain, and holds a license from General Dynamics’ European arm to build Pandur armored vehicles.
Defense stocks have outperformed in recent years thanks to greater defense-spending commitments from governments, and the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza conflicts boosting demand for military equipment.
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