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After DeepSeek R1’s impressive performance, global tech-sector titans as a group saw $94 billion of wealth evaporate — roughly 85 per cent of the Bloomberg index’s total decline.
The global market selloff led by AI stocks hit billionaires tied to artificial intelligence the hardest, with Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison among the biggest losers.
The world’s 500 richest individuals collectively lost $108 billion on Monday as a tech-sector selloff, triggered by Chinese AI developer DeepSeek, rattled global markets. The selloff hit billionaires tied to artificial intelligence the hardest, with Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison among the biggest losers.
According to Bloomberg, Jensen Huang lost $20.1 billion, amounting to 20 per cent of his net worth, while Larry Ellison suffered the largest absolute loss at $22.6 billion, representing 12 per cent of his fortune. Michael Dell’s wealth declined by $13 billion, and Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao lost $12.1 billion.
Tech-sector titans as a group saw $94 billion of wealth evaporate — roughly 85 per cent of the Bloomberg index’s total decline. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 3.1%, while the S&P 500 fell 1.5%.
DeepSeek’s Disruption
DeepSeek, a Hangzhou-based AI firm, made waves as its DeepSeek R1 chatbot app topped global download charts. The app, developed for just $5.6 million, faced massive demand, causing outages and restricting signups to users with Chinese phone numbers. DeepSeek’s lean development cost challenges Silicon Valley’s narrative that heavy capital investment is required to dominate AI, shaking confidence in Western AI giants.
Impact on Western AI Leaders
US tech firms like Meta, Alphabet, and Microsoft have been heavily investing in AI, with Meta announcing plans to spend $60–$65 billion on AI-related projects this year. Capital spending across major tech companies is projected to hit $200 billion by 2025. Despite limited immediate revenue from AI, these firms have enjoyed soaring valuations and generated enormous wealth for their owners:
- Jensen Huang’s fortune had surged nearly eight-fold to $121 billion since 2023 before the selloff.
- Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth rose 385% to $229 billion during the same period.
- Jeff Bezos gained 133%, reaching $254 billion.
Resilience in the Chaos
Despite the day’s turmoil, not all tech billionaires suffered. Mark Zuckerberg added $4.3 billion to his fortune as Meta rebounded, while Jeff Bezos saw a modest $632 million increase.
