The world’s 20 richest people added $90 billion on Wednesday as markets rebounded following the US-Iran ceasefire.
Mark Zuckerberg and Bernard Arnault led the gains, while Larry Ellison and Steve Ballmer remain down for the year amid AI concerns and geopolitical uncertainty.
A broad market rally lifted all three major US indexes by over 2.5%, with the top 10 billionaires gaining $52 billion collectively. Zuckerberg added nearly $13 billion in a single day as Meta Platforms shares jumped on AI momentum, followed by Arnault with almost $10 billion.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin gained around $9 billion and $8 billion, while Amancio Ortega and Jeff Bezos each added about $7 billion. Michael Dell gained $5 billion, and the Walton family added roughly $4 billion each.
Elon Musk was the only top-50 billionaire to lose money on the day, dropping about $2 billion as Tesla shares slipped.
Despite the rally, several billionaires are still down in 2026. Ellison has lost about $56 billion, Arnault $43 billion, and Ballmer $35 billion. Zuckerberg and Bezos are also lower for the year.
Meanwhile, lesser-known names are leading gains in 2026. David Sun and John Tu of Kingston Technology have each added around $22 billion, driven by AI demand. Robert Pera is up about $20 billion, while Carlos Slim, Jeff Yass, and Dell have also posted strong gains.
The rally followed expectations that a deal involving Donald Trump could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing pressure on global energy supply after weeks of disruption.