Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the November 3, 2026, midterm elections. The next day, shares tied to some of the world’s richest people rose while others fell, producing sharply different changes in their estimated fortunes.

Gains and losses followed different stocks

By midday on November 4, Forbes’ real-time billionaire estimates put Elon Musk’s fortune down $34.5 billion, at $867.2 billion. SpaceX shares had fallen about 3% and Tesla shares about 4%.

Jeff Bezos moved in the opposite direction. His estimated fortune rose by $13.7 billion to $384.2 billion as Amazon shares gained 7%. Alphabet shares rose about 5%, alongside an $8.3 billion increase in Larry Page’s estimated wealth and a $7.6 billion gain for Sergey Brin.

Microsoft shares climbed 7%, adding an estimated $8.8 billion to former chief executive Steve Ballmer’s fortune. Walmart’s 4.5% rise lifted Rob Walton and his family’s estimated wealth by $5 billion, Jim Walton and his family’s by $4.9 billion, and Alice Walton’s by $4.8 billion. Mark Zuckerberg gained an estimated $3 billion as Meta shares rose 1.5%.

The declines were not limited to Musk. Michael Dell’s estimated fortune fell by $11.3 billion as Dell Technologies shares dropped 8%. Nvidia chief Jensen Huang lost an estimated $3.2 billion, while SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son lost $1.6 billion; Nvidia and SoftBank shares each fell 1.5%.

What the market moves do — and do not — show

Forbes described investors as adjusting to a more stable political environment while considering the possibility that Democratic control could bring tighter rules for artificial intelligence companies and data centres. The report also pointed to investor concerns about whether large AI infrastructure investments would deliver returns.

Those concerns provide context for the different share moves, but the reported figures do not establish that the election alone caused each company’s rise or fall. Nor do they show that Congress has already changed the rules for technology companies or data-centre construction.

The financial swings come after a campaign in which Musk was a major Republican donor. The Washington Post put his personal spending on the 2026 midterm campaign at about $446 million. Democrats’ control of both chambers is a political change; the wealth figures are estimates tied to market prices, not a measure of what policy Congress will ultimately adopt.