World's 10 Richest People gain USD 135 Billion Post Trump's Tariff Pause

The combined net worth of the world's top ten richest billionaires increased by $135 billion on Wednesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on his proposed tariff hikes for most countries.

"I have authorized a 90-day PAUSE," Trump said, noting that over 75 countries are currently negotiating trade terms and have not retaliated against his recent tariff increases.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later clarified that, while the US would suspend its'reciprocal' tariffs on key trading partners, a 10% blanket duty on nearly all imports would remain in place. Existing tariffs on automobiles, steel, and aluminum remain unchanged.

However, Trump announced that duties on Chinese imports would be raised to 125% from 104% earlier this week.

Overnight, the action increased the market value of Wall Street's "Magnificent Seven" stocks by over $1.5 trillion. he Nasdaq Composite surged 12.16%, its largest single-day gain since January 2001 at the height of the dotcom bubble, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 7.87%, and the S&P 500 gained 9.52%, its largest daily gain since October 2008 during the global financial crisis.

Musk, Zuckerberg, and Bezos lead the wealth surge

Elon Musk, the world's richest man, benefited the most, seeing his net worth rise from $35.9 billion to $326 billion. The CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, received the second-largest increase, going from $25.8 billion to $207 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos increased his wealth by $18.5 billion to $210 billion.

Oracle's Larry Ellison saw a $15.5 billion increase in his fortune to $159 billion, while Warren Buffett saw a $8.1 billion increase to $162 billion. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' net worth has increased by $4.8 billion to $152 billion.

Steve Ballmer of Microsoft and Larry Page of Google have amassed a combined fortune of $142 billion after making $11 billion and $11.2 billion in profits, respectively. Sergey Brin, also of Google, contributed $10.2 billion, bringing his total to $134 billion.

Among the top ten, only Bernard Arnault of LVMH saw his net worth decline. His net worth dropped by $5.7 billion to $148 billion.

Tensions with China remain high

While the pause provides temporary relief to global markets, Trump continued to put pressure on China, raising tariffs on Chinese imports to 125% from 104% earlier this week.

China responded by increasing additional duties on US products to 84% and imposing restrictions on 18 American companies, primarily in the defense and aerospace sectors.