Elon Musk added an estimated $320 billion to his fortune between July 2025 and July 2026, equivalent to an average increase of about $875 million a day, according to an analysis by BestBrokers based on data from Forbes' real-time billionaire list. The increase further widened Musk's lead among the world's wealthiest individuals during a period marked by rapid growth in artificial intelligence and technology.
Researchers at BestBrokers used the Wayback Machine to compare the estimated fortunes of the world's richest people on July 27, 2025, and July 27, 2026. Their analysis found that technology entrepreneurs accounted for some of the largest increases in wealth during the period, with Musk recording the biggest gain at $320 billion.
Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, recorded the second-largest increase, adding an estimated $107.6 billion to his fortune over the same period. Other technology and AI-linked billionaires, including Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Giancarlo Devasini of stablecoin company Tether, also recorded significant gains, according to the BestBrokers analysis.
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The report also pointed to a sharp increase in the estimated fortune of DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng. His wealth rose from about $1 billion in 2025 to $39.5 billion in 2026, representing an increase of approximately 3,850 per cent in a single year. The surge placed Liang among the world's 50 richest people, underscoring the impact of the AI boom on technology-linked fortunes.
Musk, who has ranked as the world's richest person since May 2024, has experienced substantial fluctuations in his estimated wealth. He briefly became the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX went public on June 12, according to the report, before a subsequent decline in SpaceX shares reduced his estimated fortune. His wealth was estimated at around $690 billion at the time referenced in the report.
Musk, originally from South Africa, moved to Canada before turning 18 and later studied economics at the University of Pennsylvania after transferring from Queen's University in Ontario. His first billion came after an online bank he co-founded merged with PayPal, which was subsequently acquired by eBay for $1.4 billion in 2002.
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