Tech Billionaires Face Significant Losses Amid Market Selloff

Larry Page, co-founder of Google, became the world’s third-richest person on Friday, despite a significant drop in his net worth. This shift occurred as the tech sector experienced a massive selloff, impacting several prominent billionaires.

Page’s net worth was estimated at $234.4 billion on Friday, a decrease of $1.5 billion for the day. This decline came as Alphabet, Google’s parent company, saw its shares dip by 0.7%. Meanwhile, Michael Dell’s net worth fell to $229.2 billion, a drop of $17.5 billion for the day, as Dell shares decreased by over 10%.

The tech selloff, which began on Thursday, was triggered by disappointing earnings reports and broader concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) spending. Alphabet’s stock fell by 12% on Thursday after the company reported third-quarter revenue figures that did not meet investor expectations, resulting in a $31 billion loss for Page. Dell shares also fell due to Intel’s warning about a continued slowdown in PC sales and broader AI spending fears.

Intel’s shares fell by 29% on Friday after the company forecasted revenue between $15 billion and $16 billion for the current quarter, below Wall Street’s estimates. Intel also announced significant investments in research, development, and manufacturing facilities, raising concerns about return on investment for substantial AI spending.

Intel expects PC shipments to fall by 12% this year and another 10% next year, a concerning outlook for Dell, which relies heavily on PCs, laptops, and servers. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan cited supply shortages and rising memory prices as reasons for this expected drop, adding he expects the downturn to last at least through the first part of 2027.

The tech selloff affected the top eight richest people, all of whom saw decreases in their net worth, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires list.