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.
Adam Foroughi
Photo Credit: (Photo: Bloomberg)
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.
Skepticism has been simmering for months around software stocks and the impact artificial intelligence will have on the sector, while AppLovin was also dinged 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.
Bloomberg Billionaires Index
Photo Credit: (Photo: Bloomberg)
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.
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