Artificial intelligence has been a talking point ever since CEO Sam Altman-led OpenAI unleashed ChatGPT on the world with so much success. Even as he grabbed eye-balls globally, many other individuals attained success via AI virtually unnoticed. Since, then, from software to hardware, the AI space has seen a number of extremely successful individuals emerge and this is now reflecting in the latest Forbes billionaires list.
Apart from Altman himself, many have benefitted from the surge in market value that has been as sudden as it has been surprising, considering that barely 2 years ago, this space was marked more by theory than any solid activity or product. Nevertheless, OpenAI grabbed the first-movers’ advantage and the rest, as they say, is history. Having said that, what is plainly evident is that not just new, but also the “old” tech companies executives have benefitted immensely from their drive into this segment. Before checking out the list of 9 freshly minted billionaires on Forbes list and their actual wealth, have a brief look at the newsmakers too:
Amazing as it may seem, but there is a company that even beat Nvidia stock. Super Micro Computer was up more than 10-fold in the last year. In fact, that is more than any company on the S&P 500. The result: Cofounders Charles Liang and his wife Sara Liu became new billionaires.
Then there is Advanced Micro Devices’ CEO, Lisa Su. She entered the billionaire ranks this year due to a 120% rise in the company’s share price.
Coming up in the rear is Cloudflare, whose shares jumped 86% and turned its chief operating officer Michelle Zatlyn a new billionaire. At the same time, CEO Matthew Prince’s wealth jumped to $3.4 billion, from $2 billion in 2023.
While publicly owned companies were making merry on the stock markets, privately owned companies’ founders were not far behind at all.
This especially applies to OpenAI whose valuation reportedly jumped to $80 bn after a $10 bn investment from Microsoft. However, Forbes says, “Though its CEO Altman has no equity in the company, Forbes estimates he’s a billionaire due to his network of venture investments.”
Other such execs making it into the billionaires list are Notion cofounder and CEO Ivan Zhao. This is based on his stake in the $5 billion (estimated valuation) productivity app.
Another such AI beneficiary is Brett Adcock. He is the founder and CEO of the $2.6 billion (valuation) AI robot company Figure.
Check out the list of new billionaires in Forbes list whose companies are tied to AI:
1. Charles Liang Net Worth: $6.1 Billion
2. Kwak Dong Shin – Net Worth: $2.9 Billion
3. Shunsaku Sagami – Net worth: $1.9 Billion
4. Ivan Zhao – Net Worth: $1.5 Billion
5. Brett Adcock – Net Worth: $1.4 Billion
6. Lisa Su – Net Worth: $1.3 Billion
7. Michelle Zatlyn – Net Worth: $1.2 Billion
8. Sam Altman – Net Worth: $1 Billion
9. Harvey Jones – Net Worth: $1 Billion
