Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has become the world’s fifth-richest person, overtaking Dell CEO Michael Dell. According to Forbes’ real-time billionaire rankings, Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth reached $222.1 billion, moving him ahead of Dell, whose wealth dropped to $141 billion. The change came after Dell shares fell more than 3% on Monday i.e. July 20 continuing a selloff that started after the stock hit a record high in June. Despite the recent decline, Dell remains one of the biggest winners of the AI boom this year.
Dell shares fall after record rally
Dell Technologies shares were down 3.3% on July 20, adding to an 8.8% decline last week. The stock has now fallen more than 18% since reaching an intraday record high of $469 on June 1 this year.According to Forbes, the decline reduced Michael Dell’s net worth by about $2 billion, allowing Mark Zuckerberg to move ahead in the global rich list. Meta shares, meanwhile, recovered from early losses and were trading nearly flat later in the session.
AI boom still powers Dell’s growth
Despite the recent pullback, Dell shares have surged about 200% this year, making the company one of the biggest beneficiaries of growing investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Dell has become a major supplier of servers for AI data centers. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump, who became a Dell shareholder in the first quarter, publicly encouraged investors to buy the company’s stock as demand for AI infrastructure continued to grow.In its latest reported quarter, the company posted an 88% jump in revenue, while AI server revenue increased 757% from a year earlier. Dell expects annual AI server sales to exceed $60 billion. Michael Dell’s fortune has also grown sharply over the past few years, rising from $22.9 billion in 2020 to more than $221 billion today, according to Forbes.Meta is scheduled to report its quarterly results next week, while Dell Technologies is expected to announce its second-quarter earnings next month.
