<\/p>\n
If 2026 feels like a banner year for the world\u2019s tech billionaires, the numbers bear it out.<\/p>\n
The roughly 100 technology fortunes among the world\u2019s 500 richest people gained a combined $845 billion through 30 September, the most ever for the first nine months of a year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.<\/p>\n
Fuelling that surge were the same forces driving global markets: the artificial intelligence boom and soaring technology stocks, particularly in the US. Tech billionaires are now worth a combined $4.6 trillion, accounting for 36% of the index\u2019s wealth despite making up only about a fifth of its members.<\/p>\n
The divergence is stark. Billionaires who made their fortunes outside technology lost a combined $62 billion over the period, while Americans accounted for 94% of the index\u2019s net gains.<\/p>\n
Since 10 September, all 10 of the world\u2019s richest people have been from the US \u2013 the first time that\u2019s happened since Bloomberg began tracking billionaires in 2012.<\/p>\n
Read: World\u2019s richest people lose $108bn after DeepSeek selloff<\/p>\n
The gains have also been heavily concentrated at the very top. Elon Musk, the world\u2019s richest person, added $310 billion to his fortune this year through the end of September, or roughly 40% of the index\u2019s total increase.<\/p>\n
He briefly became the world\u2019s first trillionaire after SpaceX merged with his artificial intelligence company, xAI, and went public in June.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Nine of the world\u2019s 10 wealthiest people owe their fortunes to American tech firms. Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell saw his wealth increase 81% to $254 billion as his company\u2019s data centre sales business ballooned.<\/p>\n
Mark Zuckerberg added $23 billion to his net worth this year as shares of Meta Platforms gained 27% in September \u2014 its best month in almost four years \u2013 after rolling out its new Muse personal AI assistant.<\/p>\n
Read: Ultra-rich families fuel $20bn private equity buyout wave<\/p>\n
Cracks showing<\/p>\n
The world\u2019s 500 richest people hit a peak of $13.4 trillion in combined wealth in mid-June. That\u2019s since fallen 6% to $12.6 trillion amid a broader market slowdown and growing doubts about some of the biggest AI names.<\/p>\n
The historic debt binge fuelling Big Tech\u2019s AI ambitions is making some investors uneasy. Larry Ellison briefly became the world\u2019s richest person in September 2025, gaining $89 billion in a single day after Oracle Corp touted explosive growth in its AI-linked cloud infrastructure business.<\/p>\n
A year later, Ellison\u2019s net worth has fallen $196 billion, while Oracle\u2019s credit-default swaps are trading near record highs as investors balk at the massive borrowing needed to fund its AI infrastructure buildout.<\/p>\n
The surge in billionaire wealth has also fuelled calls for higher taxes on the ultra-rich. California voters will decide in November whether to levy a wealth tax on the state\u2019s billionaires, while states including Washington, New York, Illinois and Rhode Island have also discussed new taxes on wealthy residents.<\/p>\n
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Read:
Musk lashes out at tax bill proponents, threatens to unseat lawmakers
Some economists have called for a radical \u2018global wealth tax\u2019 on billionaires<\/p>\n
The increasingly young, tech-heavy ranks of the ultra-rich also complicate the idea that the next great wealth shift will come primarily from aging baby boomers passing fortunes to their heirs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talk a lot about the great wealth transfer \u2013 but for the top 100 or 1 000 richest, some may be old and own rather traditional businesses, but a lot of them are young tech entrepreneurs,\u201d said James Mazeau, an economist at UBS Group AG\u2019s chief investment office. \u201cI wonder to what extent that will fuel more wealth concentration.\u201d<\/p>\n
New money<\/p>\n
While much of the AI boom\u2019s wealth has accrued to the leaders of major tech firms, Bloomberg\u2019s new entrants show how the surge is also minting fortunes among startup founders and the companies supplying AI infrastructure.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
All seven of Anthropic PBC\u2019s co-founders joined the wealth list in June after the AI firm closed a funding round valuing it at $965 billion. Founders of Chinese firms including MiniMax Group Inc\u2019s Yan Junjie and DeepSeek\u2019s Liang Wenfeng also were added.<\/p>\n
The boom has also enriched the businesses supplying AI\u2019s hardware and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Read: For 250 years, one equation has governed wealth creation \u2013 AI just broke it<\/p>\n
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Lin Tsung-chi, founder of King Slide, a Taiwanese maker of server rails and cable management systems for data centres, emerged with a $9.5 billion fortune this year, four decades after starting the company.<\/p>\n
Wang Xin, chair of Guangdong Dtech Technology Co, joined the wealth index as AI created demand for the specialised drill bits her company makes to assemble circuit boards.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Two heirs of Samsung Electronics Co.\u2019s Lee family \u2013 Boo-jin and Seo-hyun \u2013 also joined the list thanks to demand for the company\u2019s memory chips. The uptick in Samsung\u2019s stock price helped the family pay back an $8 billion inheritance tax after former Chairman Lee Kun-hee\u2019s death in 2020.<\/p>\n
In Taiwan, chip designer MediaTek Inc\u2019s Tsai Ming-kai and Morris Chang, founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, also joined the exclusive list this year.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s push for technology independence and rivalry with the US for AI dominance have resulted in several new entrants joining the list: Suzhou TFC Optical Communication Co\u2019s Zou Zhinong and family, as well as Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co\u2019s Yuan Fugen.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
#billionaires #making #money #year #tech<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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