AI is creating billionaires at record speed, but its impact is making the lives of common people more expensive. Know how AI is increasing the gap between poor and rich.
AI: New riches and impact on common people
There is a fast paced ‘gold rush’ going on in the world of AI these days. While on one hand people are wondering whether AI will eliminate jobs or create new possibilities, on the other hand, a select few are becoming billionaires very fast. These people are at the forefront of AI technology – scientists, engineers and startup founders – whose wealth is growing at a pace never seen before.
The new boss of AI
At, Top name of this list is Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia Company. That AI chips become most important hardware for training new AI systems. Today, almost every company and government that wants to move ahead in AI needs Nvidia’s chips. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Huang’s net worth has risen to nearly $159 billion, making him the eighth richest person in the world. This year his current wealth has increased around by $44 billion, as Nvidia’s market cap has surged above $4 trillion.
After Huang, the founders and early engineers of AI startups like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity are next in line. The valuations of these companies are skyrocketing – OpenAI is valued at nearly $500 billion and Anthropic at $170 billion. Even though their net worth figures are not public, it’s certain that the founders of these companies are now on the billionaire list.
Names like Mira Murati and Ilya Sutskever, who left OpenAI to start their own companies, have become major players in the AI industry.
The pace of billionaires
So far this year, 53 companies have reached a value of over $1 billion, and more than half of them are from the AI industry, according to CB Insights. What is special is that these AI unicorns reached $1B+ valuation in just 6 years on average, while other startups take 7 years to reach this milestone.
Impact on common people: rising rent and inflation
The impact of the AI is not limited to the tech industry. This money is mostly flowing into cities where living costs are already high, such as Silicon Valley and New York. This is further increasing rents and house prices there.
Zillow reports that the average monthly rent in San Francisco has risen to $3,526, which is $176 more than last year. In New York, it has reached $3,800. This increase is forcing middle-income families to move out of the city, weakening the local community.
The AI is creating billionaires on one hand, but on the other hand it is directly affecting the pockets of common people. Even though this technology promises to change the future, its economic consequences are being felt today – especially in rents and house prices.
Also Read: Mark Zuckerberg’s Secret ‘The List’ Plan: How Meta Is Recruiting the World’s Top AI Experts
