Bloomberg: Tech billionaires now account for 36% of wealth of world's richest people

The world’s tech billionaires now have a combined fortune of $4.6 trillion – 36% of the total wealth held by the world’s 500 richest people, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Yet tech entrepreneurs make up only around a fifth of the top 500.

Over the first nine months of 2026, the combined wealth of around 100 tech billionaires rose $845 billion, the largest increase ever recorded for that period, Bloomberg noted. Over the same period, billionaires who made their fortunes outside of the tech sector lost a combined $62 billion.

Most of the gains went to the wealthiest people. Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, added $310 billion to his fortune from the beginning of the year through the end of September, accounting for around 40% of the total increase in the wealth of the top 500. After SpaceX merged with xAI, both owned by him, and went public, Musk briefly became the first trillionaire in history.

Nine of the world’s 10 richest people now owe their fortunes to U.S. tech companies. Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell saw his wealth increase 81% to $254 billion amid a surge in the company’s data center sales. Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg added $23 billion to his fortune after the company’s shares gained 27% in September following the launch of its new personal AI assistant, Muse.

The combined wealth of the world’s 500 richest people peaked at $13.4 trillion in mid-June but has since ticked down 6% to $12.6 trillion amid a broader market slowdown and growing doubts about the sustainability of some of the largest AI projects.

One of the most striking examples is Oracle founder Larry Ellison. In September 2025, he briefly became the world’s richest person, adding $89 billion to his fortune in a single day after Oracle touted explosive growth in its AI cloud business and a $300 billion deal with OpenAI. A year later, Ellison’s net worth had fallen $196 billion, while Oracle’s credit-default swaps were trading near record highs: investors are concerned about the scale of borrowing needed to finance the construction of AI infrastructure.

The surge in the wealth of the world’s richest people has already fueled debate over higher taxes on the ultrawealthy. In November, California residents will vote on whether to introduce a wealth tax on the state’s billionaires. Washington, New York, Illinois, and Rhode Island are also considering similar measures.