Dell Shares Hit All-Time High As Michael Dell And Jeff Bezos Jockey For Third-Wealthiest Billionaire

Dell Technologies shares reached their latest all-time high Friday, rebounding from a Thursday slide and sending CEO Michael Dell back into the No. 3 spot on Forbes' real-time billionaires list ahead of Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos.

Shares of Dell Technologies were up 10.3% around the $558 mark shortly before 2 p.m. EDT, a dip from the all–time high of $565 recorded at 10:40 a.m. EDT.

Dell's estimated net worth surged over 6% to $274 billion as the stock soared, making him the world's third-wealthiest person ahead of Bezos ($273 billion).

Dell and Bezos have battled for the No. 3 spot throughout this week, with Dell securing it for the first time on Tuesday, losing it Thursday as Dell Technologies shares cooled off and recapturing it Friday from Bezos.

The rise in Dell Technologies shares came as hardware names tied to AI datacenter buildouts drew fresh buying.

Dell Technologies reported last week its AI-optimized server revenue doubled to $16.4 billion last quarter, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise reported $2.4 billion in AI Systems orders and a record $7.6 billion total AI backlog.

Dell Technologies shares are also likely benefiting from RBC Capital Markets issuing the company an "outperform" rating and a $640 price target.

Dell and Bezos are not far behind Alphabet co-founder Larry Page, whose estimated fortune reached $279 billion Friday. However, Tesla chief Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest person, is far ahead of any other billionaire on the real-time list, boasting an estimated net worth of $916 billion.

Dell managed to briefly pass Page in net worth on Wednesday when his fortune soared to about $273 billion. Dell holds a roughly 40% stake in his company and also has a portion of his wealth vested in his own private investment firm DFO Management. Dell Technologies has benefited from the AI boom through hardware and infrastructure offerings. In its latest earnings report, the company recorded $47 billion in revenue, a 58% jump year-over-year, with its AI server business logging a record $60.9 billion in orders and accounting for $16.4 billion in revenue.