U.S. stocks fell after September consumer price data came in hotter than expected, and the resulting selloff in technology shares erased more than $50 billion (about 67 trillion won) from the fortunes of the world's biggest tech billionaires, including Michael Dell, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
The consumer price index rose 0.6% from the previous month in September, with the 12-month increase accelerating to 3.7%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on the 14th. CNBC reported that the reading slightly exceeded the 3.6% economists had forecast. Much of the increase came from energy prices, which climbed during the conflict with Iran. Energy prices remain 20.4% higher than a year earlier, according to BLS data.
The slide in tech shares cut billions of dollars from the net worth of the world's wealthiest people. Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, lost more than $20 billion (about 27 trillion won) in a single day and gave up his position as the world's fourth-richest person. Musk, the world's richest person, saw his fortune shrink by $17.6 billion (about 24 trillion won).
Dell Technologies shares posted their steepest intraday drop since July. The decline deepened after a Barclays analyst cut the stock to neutral from overweight before the opening bell. The stock closed down 11.27%, sharply reducing the net worth of the founder, who holds about a 40% stake.
Dell's estimated net worth stood at $256.6 billion (about 346 trillion won), leaving him fifth in the world. Fourth place went to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, whose net worth fell about $4 billion to $262.3 billion (about 341 trillion won) as Alphabet shares declined in the afternoon.
Musk, who had been the world's richest person, lost $17.6 billion as SpaceX and Tesla shares fell 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively. It marked a second straight day of declines after his fortune dropped below $1 trillion the previous day. Zuckerberg lost about $6.2 billion (about 8 trillion won), and Nvidia's Jensen Huang lost about $4 billion (about 5 trillion won).
Dell Technologies had been one of the market's winners this year, as demand for servers and data center equipment surged while artificial intelligence companies built out the facilities needed to run their technology. Dell founded the company in the 1980s. When the 2025 Forbes 400 list was published, his fortune was valued at $97.7 billion (about 132 trillion won). It has since grown by more than $157 billion (about 212 trillion won). At one point last month, his net worth topped $270 billion (about 364 trillion won), making him the world's second-richest person behind Musk.