Michael Dell adds over $80 billion to fortune as AI boom and Trump ties put billionaire in spotlight
Michael Dell has become one of the biggest winners of 2026. The 61-year-old billionaire has added $83.5 billion to his fortune this year, taking his net worth to $223 billion and making him the world’s sixth-richest person. The company’s shares have climbed 240%, while demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure has powered rapid growth in a business that sells everything from GPUs and memory to networking, cooling and storage. Dell, who owns roughly 40% of the company, has benefited enormously from that rise.
But as his company rides the AI wave, another development has put the usually low-profile billionaire in an unfamiliar position that is close to the centre of Washington’s political light.
