The only billionaires making money this year are in tech

If 2026 feels like a banner year for the world’s tech billionaires, the numbers bear it out.

The roughly 100 technology fortunes among the world’s 500 richest people gained a combined $845 billion through Sept. 30, the most ever for the first nine months of a year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Fueling that surge were the same forces driving global markets: the artificial intelligence boom and soaring technology stocks, particularly in the US. Tech billionaires are now worth a combined $4.6 trillion, accounting for 36% of the index’s wealth despite making up only about a fifth of its members.