The sort of story that newspapers love and all credit to him for achieving the qualifications so young. Despite having the money the hurdles still have to be jumped.
The youngest Captain however, is an achievement. My youngest Captain was 22 - on a 4-jet! And on another fleet, my employer had two 4-jet Captains who got into the left seat with less than 1000hrs total time. And one was a girl. Beat that!
In conversation with my FO on a recent trip he told me in conversation about types flown previously that he had flown the Electra for Air Atlantique. I later learned that he gained his command on it 2 days after his 21st birthday. As you need to be 21 or over to have a command on an aircraft of that type (I believe the criteria is weight) he is probably the youngest ever person to do so. He was extremely able but at the same time very modest and recognised that a fortuitous set of curcumstances had led to the achievement.
Edited to correct my error in referring to the Merchantman when the aircraft was actually an Electra.