An article summarized by Bloomberg:
Tech billionaires are having a record-breaking year in 2026, with roughly 100 technology fortunes among the world’s 500 richest people gaining a combined $845 billion through September. Their total wealth has reached about $4.6 trillion, representing 36% of the wealth tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The surge has been driven primarily by the artificial intelligence boom and soaring U.S. technology stocks, while billionaires outside the tech sector collectively lost about $62 billion.
The gains have been heavily concentrated among a handful of American tech billionaires. Elon Musk added roughly $310 billion to his fortune this year, accounting for about 40% of the total increase among the world’s richest people, and briefly became the first trillionaire after SpaceX merged with xAI and went public. Michael Dell’s wealth jumped 81% to $254 billion as demand for data-center technology surged, while Mark Zuckerberg gained $23 billion. Since September 10, all 10 of the world's richest people have been Americans, highlighting the dominance of U.S. technology companies.
But there are signs the AI-driven wealth boom could face a correction. The combined wealth of the world’s 500 richest people has fallen about 6% from its June peak as markets cooled and investors questioned the enormous debt being used to finance AI infrastructure. Larry Ellison, for example, has lost about $196 billion from his peak, while concerns over Oracle’s borrowing have grown. At the same time, the AI boom is creating entirely new fortunes among startup founders and companies supplying chips, data-center equipment and other infrastructure—suggesting the technology revolution is not only making existing billionaires richer, but creating a new generation of ultra-wealthy entrepreneurs.
