Michael Dell becomes world's second-richest person as AI server boom fuels rally

Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, became the world's second-richest person for the first time on 9 September, as a record share rally more than doubled his wealth this year.

Dell's net worth reached an estimated $273.2 billion on 9 September, up roughly $132 billion from $141 billion at the start of the year, according to Forbes. That puts him ahead of Google co-founder Larry Page, and behind only Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The 61-year-old billionaire had climbed to third place just a day earlier after overtaking Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, before moving up another spot as Dell Technologies shares extended their record-breaking rally. The stock rose 4 percent on 9 September to an intraday record of $555.31, adding roughly $6.3 billion to Dell's fortune that morning. He owns approximately 40 percent of the company.

Dell Technologies shares have climbed more than 300 percent since the start of the year, as the world's largest server maker has emerged as a major beneficiary of the global artificial intelligence infrastructure boom. Once best known for personal computers, the company has become a key supplier of servers, storage and networking equipment needed to build and run AI systems.

According to Fortune, Dell booked a record $60.9 billion in AI server orders in its latest quarter, generating $16.4 billion in AI server revenue and ending the period with a record $95 billion backlog. Overall quarterly revenue reached a record $47 billion, up 58 percent year-on-year, while adjusted earnings per share more than tripled to $7.04.

The surge in Dell's fortune has propelled him past several of the technology industry's most prominent billionaires, including Page, Bezos, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

His ascent marks the latest chapter in the transformation of the company he founded in 1984 at age 19, while studying at the University of Texas, with just $1,000 in initial capital. After becoming one of the world's leading PC manufacturers, Dell took the company private in 2013. Three years later, it completed a $67 billion acquisition of data-storage giant EMC, then the largest technology acquisition in history, significantly expanding the company's presence in enterprise storage and data infrastructure, businesses that have become increasingly valuable amid the AI investment surge. The company returned to public markets in 2018.

Dell's wealth extends beyond his roughly 40 percent stake in the company. Much of his fortune is held through private investment firm DFO Management, while he also holds a multibillion-dollar stake in chipmaker Broadcom, another major beneficiary of the AI infrastructure boom.