The only billionaires making money this year are in tech

The year 2026 has proven to be a lucrative one for technology billionaires, with a recent report revealing that the roughly 100 tech fortunes among the world's 500 richest individuals amassed a staggering $845 billion through the first nine months of the year alone. This represents the highest increase for this timeframe in recent history, as reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The primary drivers behind this surge are the ongoing artificial intelligence boom and the soaring technology stocks, particularly in the United States. Collectively, tech billionaires now possess a combined wealth of $4.6 trillion, accounting for 36% of the total wealth within the index, despite representing only about one-fifth of its membership.

In stark contrast, billionaires who originally amassed their fortunes in non-technology sectors experienced a combined loss of $62 billion during the same period. Moreover, 94% of the index's net gains were attributed to Americans, with all ten of the world's wealthiest individuals being from the United States as of September 10 - a first since Bloomberg began tracking billionaires in 2012.

The wealth gains have also been heavily concentrated at the very top, with Elon Musk, the world's richest person, adding $310 billion to his fortune this year, accounting for roughly 40% of the index's total increase. He briefly became the world's first trillionaire after the merger of SpaceX and his artificial intelligence company, xAI, went public in June.

Nine out of the world's 10 wealthiest people owe their fortunes to American tech firms. Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies Inc., saw his wealth increase by 81% to $254 billion following the growth in his company's data center sales business. Mark Zuckerberg added $23 billion to his net worth this year as Meta Platforms Inc. shares gained 27% in September, marking its best month in almost four years, following the launch of its new Muse personal AI assistant.

However, the historic debt binge driving Big Tech's AI ambitions has raised concerns among some investors. Larry Ellison, who briefly became the world's richest person in September 2025 after Oracle Corp. touted explosive growth in its AI-linked cloud infrastructure business, has since seen his net worth fall by $196 billion. Oracle's credit-default swaps are trading near record highs due to the massive borrowing required to fund its AI infrastructure buildout.

This wealth surge has also sparked calls for higher taxes on the ultra-rich, with California voters set to decide in November whether to levy a wealth tax on billionaires. Additionally, states such as Washington, New York, Illinois, and Rhode Island have discussed new taxes on wealthy residents, further complicating the idea that the next great wealth shift will primarily come from aging baby boomers passing fortunes to their heirs.