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Why Larry Page Passed Michael Dell After Alphabet’s $500 Billion Selloff
Larry Page passed Michael Dell because Dell’s fortune fell more sharply on Friday: Forbes put Page at $234.4 billion and Dell at $229.2 billion around midday, even as Page was down $1.5 billion.
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- Larry Page passed Michael Dell because Dell’s fortune fell more sharply on Friday: Forbes put Page at $234.4 billion and Dell at $229.2 billion around midday, even as Page was down $1.5 billion.
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openai.comCreate a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: How did Larry Page overtake Michael Dell as the world’s third-richest person on Forbes’ list on Friday, October 30, 2026, despite Alphabet’s. Article summary: Larry Page overtook Michael Dell because Dell’s shares fell more sharply on Friday—not because Page recovered Thursday’s losses: Forbes reported Dell shares sinking 10%, while Page’s estimated fortune was $234.4 billion,. Topic tags: general, general web, news. Style: premium digital editorial illustration, source-backed research mood, clean composition, high detail, modern web publication hero. Use reference image context only for broad subject, composition, and topical grounding; do not copy the exact image. Avoid: logos, brand marks, copyrighted characters, real person likenesses, fake screenshots, UI text, readable text, watermarks, charts with fake numbers
Larry Page moved ahead of Michael Dell on Forbes’ real-time billionaire ranking on Friday, October 30, 2026, even though Page’s fortune was still falling. The difference was that Dell’s shares dropped much more sharply: around midday, Forbes’ estimates put Page at $234.4 billion and Dell at $229.2 billion. 13
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Why the ranking changed
The shift was about relative losses, not a rebound in Alphabet. Forbes reported that Page’s estimated wealth had fallen by $1.5 billion that day as Alphabet shares slipped 0.7%. Dell’s estimated fortune, by contrast, was down $17.5 billion, while Dell shares fell about 10%. 13
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At those midday estimates, Page was roughly $5.2 billion ahead of Dell. Because the list tracks estimated fortunes alongside changing share prices, a person can rise in rank while their own wealth estimate is declining—if a competitor’s estimate falls faster. 13
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How large was Alphabet’s selloff?
Alphabet’s October 29 decline was extraordinary, but published figures reflect different reporting times. Forbes reported that the shares were down about 12% and that Alphabet had lost $480 billion in market value by 1:30 p.m. EDT. Other reports described a decline of more than 13% and a loss exceeding $500 billion. These figures should be read as different snapshots, not as one precisely reconciled closing figure. 12
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Reports characterized the loss as Alphabet’s largest-ever one-day dollar decline and the second-largest daily market-value loss in U.S. history, behind Nvidia’s January 2025 drop. Estimates for Nvidia’s loss also vary: reports cited about $589 billion or $593 billion. 13
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The selloff also cut into the estimated paper wealth of Alphabet co-founders Page and Sergey Brin. One report put their combined Thursday losses at about $60 billion, with Page down roughly $31 billion and Brin nearly $29 billion. Those estimates describe changes in wealth tied to shares; they do not mean the founders sold that amount of stock. 10
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What unsettled investors
Alphabet reported third-quarter revenue of about $127.6 billion, up 25% year over year, but below analyst expectations. Net income fell about 25% to $26.17 billion. 1
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Google Search revenue grew about 12% to roughly $63 billion, but came in below estimates for a second consecutive quarter. The shortfall added to investor concern that AI could pressure Google’s core search business, which helps fund the company’s broader AI expansion. 40
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Spending added to those concerns. Alphabet reported free cash flow of negative $9.07 billion for the quarter, its second consecutive negative quarter, while capital expenditure was about $51 billion. 2
16 The company maintained its 2026 capital-spending forecast of $195 billion to $205 billion. CNBC reported that spending could exceed $300 billion in 2027, while noting that Alphabet’s finance chief said the company expected a significant increase and would provide further details later. That figure was a reported expectation, not a formal 2027 guidance range in the available material.
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The results were not uniformly weak: Google Cloud revenue reached $30.71 billion, more than double the year-earlier level, according to reporting. The available figures establish revenue growth, but do not establish Cloud’s operating profitability. 9
The clearest explanation for Friday’s ranking change is therefore straightforward: Page’s estimated fortune remained higher than Dell’s because Dell’s share-price decline—and the associated estimated wealth loss—was steeper. The Forbes ranking was a moving snapshot, while Alphabet’s selloff and the concerns behind it remained in focus. 13
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What is the short answer to "Why Larry Page Passed Michael Dell After Alphabet’s $500 Billion Selloff"?
Larry Page passed Michael Dell because Dell’s fortune fell more sharply on Friday: Forbes put Page at $234.4 billion and Dell at $229.2 billion around midday, even as Page was down $1.5 billion.
Sources
forbes.comLarry Page Overtakes Michael Dell To Become World's Third-Richest As Dell Shares Sink 10%
forbesargentina.comLarry Page, de Google, desplaza a Michael Dell y se convierte en la tercera persona más rica del mundo
forbes.peLarry Page se convierte en la tercera persona más rica del mundo, pese al desplome de Google