A Democratic Congress threatens AI companies and their leaders with aggressive regulation, immediate moratoriums on data center development and hearings and investigations—a likelihood that has already caused Elon Musk and Michael Dell to lose billions, while others gained as diminished political uncertainty strengthened the markets.
Key Facts
Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple shares rose on Wednesday as investors adjusted to a more stable political environment and expect Democrats will clamp down on some Big Tech companies’ massive AI spending.
SpaceX, Tesla, Dell, Nvidia and SoftBank all fell as the news heightens concerns about a regulatory slowdown of data center construction and Elon Musk takes a huge hit as a big Republican donor.
Billionaire Winners
- Jeff Bezos’ estimated net worth was up $13.7 billion to hit $384.2 billion as of 12 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, as Amazon stock shot up 7% in a post-election market relief rally, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires list.
- Google’s Larry Page gained $8.3 billion, bringing his estimated net worth to $241.1 billion, while Sergey Brin added $7.6 billion to his—coming as Alphabet stock rose nearly 5%, recovering from last week when it suffered its worst dollar-loss day.
- Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer added $8.8 billion to his net worth as the company rose 7%, hitting an all-time intraday high of $557.39 on Wednesday morning as part of the broader market recovery.
- Walmart shares rose 4.5%, adding $5 billion to the net worth of Rob Walton and family, $4.9 billion to Jim Walton and family’s worth and $4.8 billion to Alice Walton’s.
Billionaire Losers
- Elon Musk lost $34.5 billion as of 12 p.m. EDT as shares of SpaceX and Tesla fell around 3% and 4%, respectively, bringing his estimated worth to $867.2 billion—a hit for the world’s richest person who gave nearly $450 million to support Republicans in the midterms.
- Michael Dell’s net worth fell $11.3 billion to $213.4 billion as Dell Technologies’ shares sank 8% as part of the broader tech selloff.
- Nvidia’s Jensen Huang lost $3.2 billion, bringing his estimated worth to $176.1 billion as shares fell 1.5% on growing investor concerns about the profitability of substantial AI investments.
- SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s net worth fell $1.6 billion as the company’s shares fell 1.5% as part of the broader AI pullback.
Key Background
With Democrats in control of the House and Senate, AI companies will now have to grapple with stricter regulations on data centers and big tech on top of already-growing investor concerns about return on investment for substantial AI infrastructure investments. Data center moratoriums were on ballots across the country as concerns about rising energy bills, power usage and noise pollution has become a major concern for many voters. In Texas, a state where many massive tech companies are headquartered or have set up data centers in, Governor-Elect Gina Hinojosa has pledged to immediately impose a statewide moratorium on new data center construction. In addition to Microsoft hitting an all-time intraday high on Wednesday, Apple did as well, trading at a high of $354.33 in the morning.
Big Number
$450 million. This is around how much Elon Musk spent supporting Republicans this midterms season, dishing out $216 million to America PAC, the independent-expenditure political action committee he founded in 2024, and $168 million to the Senate Leadership Fund.
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