Dell stock surged over 30% on Friday, boosting founder and CEO Michael Dell’s net worth by some $34 billion.
The exec’s net worth shot up to $244.8 billion, according to Forbes, lodging him in slot No. 6 on its billionaires list — just below Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and above Meta big Mark Zuckerberg.
Shares in Dell went on a tear after the company reported first quarter growth in artificial-intelligence hardware and details emerged about its new $9.7 billion contract with the Department of War.
Dell will provide the department a suit of software under the five-year deal. The Pentagon has said it’s working to revamp its software and cloud-based systems in order to use more AI.
The deal came after Trump’s investment accounts bought between $1 million and $5 million of Dell stock in February, the Wall Street Journal noted.
Toward the end of last year, Michael Dell and his wife Susan pledged $6.25 billion toward the president’s “Trump accounts” initiative. The Dells’ investment – which comes to about $250 per account – is meant to help kids pay for an education, start a business or afford a down payment on a house after they turn 18.
Long a household name in the personal computer market, Texas-based Dell has recently ramped up its AI hardware business by making servers for data centers.
Revenue for the company’s AI server segment reached $16.1 billion in the quarter, $1.5 billion more than its PC unit raked in.
Dell’s total revenue shot up 88% over the prior year to $43.8 billion. AI-optimized servers accounted for more than a third of that revenue, surging about eightfold year-over-year.
Dell revised upwards its full-year AI revenue expectations to $60 billion. The company said in February it would pull in $50 billion.
