Montana State Legislator Daniel Zolnikov was ecstatic when he was named in Forbes magazine’s 30 under 30 list.

"Back in January I made the Forbes 30 under 30 law and policy category, Zolnikov said. "I think I was the only Montanan to make it; Most people are from  Los Angeles, New York... It was quite the feat... an achievement."

Despite the nomination though, Zolnikov said he’ll be missing out on 30 under 30 Summit.

"It is quite the expense to attend for three or four days," Zolnikov said. "I mean, plane tickets, travel, hotel accommodations, everything. Even though it's a great event and networking function, it's just not in my financial range to attend. Here's the best thing: I think I'm probably the poorest person to make it into Forbes and I'm actually pretty proud of that."

Zolnikov got the nod after successfully guiding a unique cell phone privacy bill through the state legislature. This all happened before news about the Edward Snowden leaks began to focus the nation’s attention on privacy.

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