Billionaire families bet on semiconductor, energy stocks in Q1

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high net worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.

Private investment firms of the ultra-wealthy doubled down on chipmakers in the first quarter of 2026 despite pressures from the Iran war, according to securities filings analyzed by CNBC. Several family offices also leaned into energy producers as the Middle East conflict drove oil prices up, though others opted to lock in their gains.

David Tepper’s family office Appaloosa Management raised its stake in Micron Technology by 11%, making the chipmaker its second-largest holding, at $562.5 million, at the end of March. Appaloosa also increased its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor by 18%, to $448.6 million, and disclosed a new $179 million position in Sandisk.

Duquesne Family Office, the personal investment firm of Stanley Druckenmiller, also disclosed a new position in Sandisk valued at $24 million as well as a $161 million position in Broadcom.

Soros Fund Management, the namesake firm of George Soros, raised its Nvidia position by 61%, to $187 million, making it one of the family office’s top 10 holdings.

Some of these moves were fortuitous, with semiconductor stocks skyrocketing in recent months.

Over the past 30 days, shares of Sandisk and Micron have both risen about 50% and 60%, respectively.

Shares of Nvidia, Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor gained by smaller percentages in recent weeks but have made substantial gains since last quarter. Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor are up about 35% and 19%, respectively, since the end of March, while Nvidia shares have risen by about 28%.

Duquesne locked in gains on two semiconductor firms by exiting positions in Entegris and ON Semiconductor last quarter. Appaloosa also trimmed its Nvidia stake by 13%, but it still ranked as its ninth largest position at $257 million.

Billionaire family offices took diverging approaches to energy stocks as the Iran war has disrupted the market. Appaloosa more than doubled its stake in Vistra Corp to $304 million while BlueCrest Capital Management, the private firm of billionaire hedge funder Michael Platt, exited its $103 million position in the Texas-based electricity and power generation firm.

Duquesne cut its stake in Bloom Energy, a fuel cell manufacturer, by 82% to $89 million, while increasing its position in YPF Sociedad by more than fivefold to $150 million. The family office is the fifth-largest institutional shareholder in the Argentinian oil and gas producer, according to InsiderScore.

With airlines facing a fuel crisis, some family offices chose to exit their positions. In the first quarter, Appaloosa sold its stakes in American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. Duquesne also exited its stake in Delta.