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The Wild Ride of Samuel Cardillo: From Teenage Hacker to Satellite Mogul
How a 9-Year-Old Started a Business, Became a Millionaire, and Now Owns Satellites
Sebastian Holloway
March 15, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
Samuel Cardillo’s life reads like a script straight out of a cyberpunk thriller. The dude was running an underground hacking business at 9, selling cybersecurity exploits to governments at 13, and working with military intelligence before he could legally buy a beer. By 28, he had founded and sold multiple companies, including a sneaker NFT startup that Nike scooped up in just eight months. Oh, and he also owns satellites.
This isn’t just a rags-to-riches story. It’s a testament to raw talent, insane risk-taking, and an uncanny ability to reinvent oneself. Buckle up because this ride is wilder than a SpaceX launch.
The Nine-Year-Old CEO: Hacking His Way to the Top
Most kids at nine are trading Pokémon cards or figuring out how to ride a bike. Not Samuel. The Belgian-born prodigy was already knee-deep in cybersecurity, running an illegal operation where he sold viruses and hacking tools online. He wasn’t just dabbling—he was making serious money.
By 13, his hacking prowess caught the attention of intelligence agencies. Instead of shutting him down, they bought data from him. At 14, he hacked into Belgium’s public transport system to protest a bus strike that stopped his sister from taking an exam. That stunt got him arrested, but it also solidified his reputation as a cyber-whiz.
From Cybercrime to Cybersecurity: The Pivot
After getting caught, Samuel could have disappeared into obscurity. Instead, he flipped the script. He joined the military and leveraged his hacking skills to develop strategic defense tools. At just 18, he created an intelligence application that he later sold to the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Not exactly your typical teenage summer job.
Post-military, he went full entrepreneur mode. He founded Black Phoenix, a cybersecurity company focused on offensive security—think digital warfare for hire. Governments and major corporations lined up to get his expertise in safeguarding their networks from the very kind of exploits he used to create.