Michael Dell lost 20 billion dollars and fell to fifth among the world's richest: he still has 256.6 billion dollars left

Twenty billion dollars. That's how much Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, lost when the company's shares fell sharply. The result? According to Forbes, he dropped from fourth to fifth place among the richest people in the world, with an estimated fortune of 256.6 billion dollars. Yes, that's the figure after the loss.

Still, in recent days the media haven't been talking so much about the numbers as about his wife, Susan Dell. She appeared at the White House looking noticeably different, and social media immediately delivered its verdict - cosmetic surgery. Whether she changed her look on purpose, nobody knows for sure. But that's the logic of the billionaires' world: a 20-billion loss goes almost unnoticed, while one new line on a face becomes news.

Susan and Michael married in 1989. She had a career as a fashion designer before devoting herself fully to philanthropy. Ten years after the wedding they set up the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, which has so far given 2.9 billion dollars, mainly to children and communities in the US and abroad. "The best man in the world," she said of her husband in an interview with Texas Monthly.

The family lives in Austin, Texas, not far from the company's headquarters, in a residence known as "The Castle". It was completed in 1997 and has eight bedrooms, thirteen bathrooms, a conference room, several pools, a tennis court and an extensive security system. Thirteen bathrooms - and a conference room at home. At the Dells', it seems, work never stays at the office.

The four children - Alexa, Kira, Juliette and Zachary - are all grown up and building their own careers. Kira is CEO of Adaptive Water, Juliette competes in equestrian sport, Zach founded Base Power, a company that installs home battery systems, and Alexa is an adviser to the family foundation and an investor. None of them started from zero, but at least none of them is sitting on the inheritance with folded arms.

When losing 20 billion dollars means just one place lower on a list and not a single change to daily life, it becomes clear how far that world is from the one where every pay cheque is counted. Is that wealth - or already something else, something we don't yet have a proper word for?