(April 9): The world’s 500 wealthiest people added US$265 billion ($337.94 billion) in wealth to their collective fortunes on Wednesday after stocks soared on optimism that a truce between the US and Iran would hold.
The surge marks the second-biggest daily gain in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and comes almost exactly one year after the richest gained a record US$304 billion in a day following President Trump’s declaration of a 90-day pause on his planned “liberation day” tariffs.
The S&P 500 climbed 2.5% Wednesday as traders embraced the fragile ceasefire’s potential to curb oil prices and facilitate the resumption of trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meta Platforms Inc chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg was the biggest gainer on Bloomberg’s wealth index, adding US$12.8 billion to his net worth after Meta shares rose 6.5%. Luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin each added more than US$8 billion to their fortunes. Sixty-one individuals on the index saw their wealth grow by more than US$1 billion.
Wednesday’s gains weren’t enough to erase the wealth index’s losses so far in 2026, however. As a group, the 500 richest billionaires have lost US$38.8 billion year to date, leaving them with a combined fortune of US$11.7 trillion.
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