Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin saw their personal fortunes shrink by around $10 billion each on the same day Google-parent Alphabet announced plans to raise $80 billion through a massive stock sale to fund its artificial intelligence (AI) expansion. As reported by Fortune, the decline came as Alphabet shares fell sharply after investors reacted to the company’s ambitious fundraising plan and growing AI spending commitments. While the $80 billion deal could become the largest equity capital markets transaction in history, the market’s immediate response wiped billions from the wealth of the company’s founders, whose fortunes remain closely tied to Alphabet’s stock performance.
Why Larry Page and Sergey Brin lost $10 billion each
According to a Fortune report, Alphabet shares fell 3.8% on June 2 and were down 6% over the previous five days following the company’s announcement that it would raise $80 billion through a combination of stock sales and private investments.Since Larry Page and Sergey Brin continue to hold large stakes in Alphabet, any significant movement in the company’s share price directly affected their net worth. The decline in Alphabet’s stock reportedly reduced the wealth of both founders by roughly $10 billion each in a single day.
Google’s $80 billion AI fundraising plan
Alphabet announced plans to raise $80 billion to support its rapidly expanding AI infrastructure efforts. The fundraising package includes:
- $15 billion common stock offering
- $15 billion mandatory convertible preferred stock offering
- $10 billion private placement with Berkshire Hathaway
- $40 billion at-the-market (ATM) stock sale programme
The company said the proceeds will be used to fund AI infrastructure as competition intensifies among major technology companies.The ATM programme is particularly significant because it allows Alphabet to gradually sell shares into the market without announcing every transaction individually, though it must still disclose the total amount raised through regulatory filings.Alphabet has projected capital expenditure of about $180 billion to $190 billion in 2026, roughly double its spending in 2025 and well above what many analysts expected. The company already held $126.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of March and has raised more than $85 billion in debt over the past year. During a recent earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai identified computing capacity as one of the biggest challenges facing the company as demand for AI services continues to grow.
