AI Accounts for Almost All Wealth Accumulated by Global Elite in 2021
Jensen Huang, co-founder of Nvidia Corp., has seen a significant increase in his wealth due to a remarkable surge in AI-related stocks. This surge has propelled Nvidia’s market value above that of Amazon.com Inc. for the first time. Additionally, the rally has also resulted in the creation of another billionaire within Huang’s family. Lisa Su, Huang’s distant cousin and CEO of Nvidia’s competitor, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., is now worth $1.2 billion as the company’s stock has doubled in value over the past year.
Two chipmaker billionaires in the same family illustrate the extent of the AI craze that is dominating the stock market, and is responsible for most of the wealth the world’s richest people have achieved this year.
Among the 500 richest people, 30 own at least some of their wealth in companies tracked by the Bloomberg Global Artificial Intelligence Index. These holdings have increased their net worth by a combined $124 billion this year, which is 96 percent of the total wealth of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
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The biggest winners are Huang and Mark Zuckerberg, whose Meta Platforms Inc. is the second-best performer in the S&P 500 after Nvidia for the second year in a row. Steve Ballmer has been riding the wave of optimism that followed Microsoft Corp.’s partnership with OpenAI, while Michael Dell’s fortune has grown in part thanks to Dell Technologies Inc. and Broadcom Inc.’s artificial intelligence initiatives.
Su isn’t the only new billionaire to ride the boom: Super Micro Computer Inc. co-founder Charles Liang has seen his fortune triple to $6.2 billion this year, as his company’s stock has easily outpaced the gains of others in AI. related shares. And Palantir Technologies Inc. founder Alex Karp has a net worth of $2.8 billion after shares of the AI-powered software maker jumped 31% in one day last week following strong quarterly results.
Other billionaires have benefited indirectly. SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son’s net worth has risen by $3.7 billion this year after chipmaker ARM Holdings Inc. nearly doubled in three trading sessions following results that showed the consumption of artificial intelligence was boosting sales. SoftBank is 90 percent owned by ARM.
The size of the wins raises questions about the sustainability of the rally. Bank of America Corp. strategist Michael Hartnett said earlier this month that the rush in tech stocks is beginning to resemble the dot-com bubble.
