Billionaires reacted sharply to the Democratic midterm sweep, and Wall Street rallied. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,569 points, or 3%, the S&P 500 gained 1.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4%, according to the report. Investors welcomed political gridlock, reduced uncertainty and President Donald Trump's willingness to accept the results.
Virgin Group founder Richard Branson wrote on LinkedIn that he felt embarrassed by the billions tech entrepreneurs and hedge fund managers have spent on elections, and he called for campaign finance reform. The report says Branson did not give donations that met the threshold for reporting in the 2026 cycle.
Elon Musk, the election's largest individual donor, saw his preferred Republicans lose the Texas Senate and governor races despite spending $224 million in the state, according to a CNBC analysis of campaign finance records. That is nearly half his record $474 million in political giving nationwide, the analysis found.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman wrote on X that money should be removed from politics. He accused Musk of spending "outrageous amounts to keep authoritarian clowns in power." Alex Soros wrote on X that "the world changed yesterday," after his family contributed roughly $103 million to Democratic efforts, according to the report.
Several investors warned about the AI boom. Chamath Palihapitiya said on the "All-In" podcast that "the only way to sink the AI trade is to sink the data centers." Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner warned that 10 to 15 gigawatts of expected AI data-center capacity could not come online in 2027. Analyst Dan Ives estimated that 10% of planned U.S. data centers would no longer go ahead.
Democratic Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa, who has proposed a moratorium on new data-center construction until stronger safeguards are in place, defeated three-term Republican incumbent Greg Abbott in Texas, the report says.
Big Tech stocks surged Wednesday, adding more than $750 billion in market value at one point, while smaller, debt-dependent data-center operators fell. The report notes that fewer new data centers could raise the value of existing facilities.