Software Billionaires Drop $62 Billion as AI Anxiety Triggers Historic Stock Slump

Software Billionaires Drop $62 Billion in AI-Driven Stock Slump

Eight of the 10 biggest declines by percentage this year are from billionaires who made their fortunes with software companies, with skepticism simmering for months around software stocks and the impact artificial intelligence will have on the sector. Software billionaires have seen their fortunes plunge by at least $62 billion this year following a selloff on Tuesday that deepened the industry's months-long decline. A trio of founders from advertising platform AppLovin Corp. have each dropped about 30% of their wealth since Jan. 1, topping the list of losses by US billionaires on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Leading the way is Adam Foroughi, 47, the Palo Alto-based company's chief executive officer, whose net worth has declined the most on a percentage basis of any US billionaire so far in 2026, with $7.8 billion wiped from his fortune. He's currently valued at $17.3 billion, down $10 billion from a five-year high in December, according to the wealth index. Eight of the 10 biggest declines by percentage this year are from billionaires who made their fortunes with software companies, with crypto exchange co-founder Brian Armstrong and frozen food magnate Bob Rich the exceptions. A guide to your money A guide to your money A guide to your money Get the Bloomberg Wealth newsletter, delivered weekly. Get the Bloomberg Wealth newsletter, delivered weekly. Get the Bloomberg Wealth newsletter, delivered weekly. Bloomberg may send me offers and promotions. Plus Signed UpPlus Sign UpPlus Sign Up By submitting my information, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Skepticism has been simmering for months around software stocks and the impact artificial intelligence will have on the sector, while AppLovin was also dingedBloomberg Terminal by a short-seller report in January. Tuesday's rout was sparked after AI startup Anthropic released a productivity tool for in-house lawyers, sending companies like Legalzoom.com Inc. tumbling 20%. The S&P North American Software Index's 15% drop in January marked its biggest monthly decline since October 2008, with shares continuing to fall on Wednesday. Human resources software company Workday Inc. hit its lowest price in three years and was down 25% this year through Tuesday's close. The Pleasanton, California-based company's co-founder, Dave Duffield, 85, has seen his own fortune, which is largely made up of his Workday shares, fall in tandem. He's down 19% for the year to $11.3 billion. Oracle Corp.'s Larry Ellison, 81, who was briefly the world's richest person in September, has lost nearly $40 billion after a 16% decline this year. He's now the sixth-richest person in the world with a $207.5 billion fortune, according to the wealth index. While software is under pressure, it's not the only sector to experience an extended decline since October. Coinbase Global Inc. CEO Armstrong's fortune is down 18% for the year but by 44% since Oct. 31 -- the most of any US-based billionaire in the last three months. The price of Bitcoin fell to its lowest since President Donald Trump's election victory and is down about 40% since October. The losses have also extended to industry-adjacent players as private equity rethinks its bet on software. Thoma Bravo's Orlando Bravo, 56, has lost nearly 12% this year with his fortune slipping to $13.1 billion. It's a reversal of fortune for many tech billionaires who saw their wealth hit new highs amid a period of exuberance around AI's potential. Intuit Inc.'s Scott Cook, 74, was worth $4.4 billion in November 2022 and nearly doubled it to hit a five-year high in July 2025 when he made Bloomberg's index of the world's 500 richest people with an $8.5 billion fortune. Intuit shares tumbled 11% on Tuesday, the Mountain View, California-based accounting software company's largest drop since March 2020. Cook is now down 17% for the year to $6.5 billion, knocking him from the rankings of the world's richest.

AI anxiety batters software execs, costing them combined $62B: report

Some of the wealthiest software executives in the US have reportedly lost a combined $62 billion this year as fears grow that artificial intelligence could gut the industry's most profitable businesses. Eight of the 10 biggest wealth drops so far in 2026 have been among billionaires who built their fortunes in software, according to Bloomberg News. The trio who founded AppLovin, the mobile advertising and technology platform, each lost around 30% of their net worth so far this year, with the stock falling by nearly a third. Adam Foroughi, AppLovin's CEO, has seen his personal net worth plunge from more than $27 billion in December to $17.3 billion as of Tuesday. Foroughi's co-founders, John Krystynak and Andrew Karam, have seen their fortunes dip 29.3% and 23.2%, respectively. As of Tuesday, Krystynak has lost $2.4 billion year-to-date while Karam's net worth has been subtracted by $2.8 billion. Jim Goodnight, co-founder of SAS Institute, one of the world's largest privately-held software companies, has seen his fortune fall 23.2% since Jan. 1 -- losing approximately $3.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Oracle founder Larry Ellison has lost nearly $40 billion this year as shares of his company slid, knocking him to sixth place on the list of the world's wealthiest moguls. Bloomberg placed his net worth at $207 billion. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong's wealth is down 18%, with losses of roughly $1.8 billion year-to-date. Earlier this week, Anthropic released its new Cowork platform, which includes a plugin designed to automate routine legal work -- the latest example of AI doing appearing to do tasks once do by humans with software. The legal plugin allows AI to perform tasks traditionally handled by lawyers, including contract review, risk flagging and more. The tech raised the possibility that a general-purpose AI can now do the same work as a person on his or her computer at a fraction of the cost. The announcement sparked a $285 billion selloff across software, financial services and asset management stocks. LegalZoom shares plunged 20% while RELX fell as much as 17% and Wolters Kluwer dropped up to 13%. Intuit shares slid 11%, as investors viewed accounting software as the next likely target for AI disruption. Jensen Huang, CEO of AI chipmaker Nvidia, said that the selloff made no sense to him. "It's the most illogical thing in the world," Huang said in comments that were reported Tuesday by Bloomberg News. "There's this notion that the tool is in decline and being replaced by AI. Would you use a screwdriver or invent a new screwdriver?" Capital markets veterans say the tech wipeout isn't just about artificial intelligence -- it's about money getting expensive. "This isn't just about AI. It's about gravity," said William Stern, founder of small-business fintech Cardiff. "When money costs 5% or 6%, you can't value a company on profits that might happen in 2030. That math doesn't work anymore." Stern said investors are no longer willing to wait years for returns that may never materialize. "The market is finally waking up and asking, 'Where is the cash flow today?'" he said. "If you can't answer that, your stock gets crushed." He argued that AI hype masked deeper problems in software valuations during the era of cheap capital. "AI is real. But the valuations were fake," Stern said. "They were built on the idea that money would be cheap forever. Now that capital is expensive, investors are done with the fairy tales." Stern dismissed the idea that technological promise alone can sustain stock prices. "You can't pay a dividend with a language model," he said. "You need profit. That $62 billion drop is just the froth blowing off the top."