The world’s 500 richest people lost a combined USD108bn on Jan 27 as a tech-led sell-off tied to Chinese AI developer DeepSeek sent markets tumbling. Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang’s net worth plunged USD20.1bn, a 20% drop, while Oracle’s Larry Ellison lost USD22.6bn. Dell’s Michael Dell and Binance’s Changpeng Zhao shed USD13bn and USD12.1bn, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite fell 3.1%, and the S&P 500 dropped 1.5%. DeepSeek’s rapid rise raised doubts about Silicon Valley’s capital-intensive AI strategies, hitting valuations of AI-linked firms. Despite the rout, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg gained USD4.3bn as the stock rebounded. DeepSeek’s ability to develop an AI model with limited funding challenges the U.S. tech industry’s reliance on high capital spending and cutting-edge semiconductors.