The world’s 500 richest people added a record $336 billion to their combined wealth in one day, driven by calmer geopolitics and a sharp rise in technology shares. Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index put their total net worth at a record $13.3 trillion.
The main trigger was a provisional agreement between the United States and Iran, which eased concerns about oil supplies and led to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. markets responded strongly, with the S&P 500 up about 1.7%, the Nasdaq 100 jumping 3.1%, and the Dow Jones closing at a record high.
Technology stocks led the advance. SpaceX’s large offering, launched a few days earlier at a valuation of about $75 billion, became one of the market’s standout moves as its stock rose about 20% on its second trading day. Semiconductor stocks also climbed more than 5% as investors rotated back into growth assets.
Elon Musk was the biggest winner, with his fortune surpassing $1 trillion for the first time a few days earlier and now estimated at about $1.11 trillion, mainly from his holdings in SpaceX and Tesla. Larry Ellison’s wealth rose to about $237 billion thanks to Oracle, while Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin benefited from gains in Alphabet. The article also warns that the rally reflects growing wealth concentration, noting that the top 10% of Americans hold about 87% of invested stock-market wealth and that roughly one-third of U.S. household wealth was tied to the stock market at the end of 2025.
