Software stocks crashed after an AI legal tool launch, dragging down firms like Workday, Oracle, and Intuit.
The biggest names in tech just got slammed. At least $62 billion has been wiped from the fortunes of American software billionaires since the start of the year. It got worse on Tuesday when the market nosedived again, continuing a months-long slide that’s already drained billions from the industry.
Adam Foroughi, the 47-year-old CEO of AppLovin, lost $7.8 billion this year alone. His current net worth is $17.3 billion, down from $27.3 billion in December. He now holds the title for the biggest percentage loss of any billionaire in the United States in 2026.
His two co-founders at AppLovin also saw their fortunes drop around 30% each since January 1. That puts all three at the top of this year’s losers list.
The Tuesday crash wasn’t random. It started after Anthropic, an AI company, rolled out a tool made for in-house lawyers. That single launch wiped 20% off companies like LegalZoom in one trading day.
The fallout hit the software sector hard. The S&P North American Software Index fell 15% in January, the worst monthly drop since 2008. Things didn’t calm down Wednesday either. The market kept slipping.
Dave Duffield, 85, who co-founded Workday, is another one taking a hit. Workday’s stock dropped 25% this year and hit its lowest level in three years.
Dave’s net worth dropped 19%, landing him at $11.3 billion. His wealth mostly comes from the shares he holds in the company.
Over at Oracle, 81-year-old Larry Ellison lost nearly $40 billion so far in 2026. His wealth has dropped 16% since January, pulling him down to the number six spot on the global rich list. He now sits at $207.5 billion, which sounds like a lot until you realize how fast it dropped.
It wasn’t just software getting crushed. The crypto world took a beating too. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, saw his wealth drop 18% this year.
But since October 31, he’s actually down 44%, which makes his loss the steepest of any billionaire in the country over the last three months. The price of Bitcoin also dropped about 40% since October. It hit its lowest level since Donald Trump won the 2024 election.
Private equity isn’t doing much better. Orlando Bravo, 56, from Thoma Bravo, lost 12% of his wealth this year. He’s now sitting on $13.1 billion. Investors are pulling back from software bets and it’s showing.
Some billionaires had just hit new highs. Scott Cook, founder of Intuit, was worth $4.4 billion in late 2022. By July 2025, he reached $8.5 billion and made it into the list of the 500 richest people. But that didn’t last.
On Tuesday, Intuit shares dropped 11%, the company’s worst day since March 2020. Scott is now worth $6.5 billion, down 17% for the year, and he’s no longer on that global rich list.
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