Ruffer is looking beyond the companies building artificial intelligence infrastructure and focusing on where the money generated by the AI boom could be spent next.
The investment manager believes rising profits, bonuses and asset values linked to AI could support sectors such as luxury goods, travel, hospitality, retail and wealth management. The key question is whether wealth created by semiconductor companies, data centres and technology businesses starts to flow into the wider economy.
South Korea is already showing signs of this effect. Strong demand for memory chips has boosted profits at major semiconductor companies and led to large employee bonuses. SK Hynix is expected to pay average bonuses of nearly $500,000 per employee this year, while Samsung has agreed a similar payment following discussions with its labour union.
Spending in South Korean semiconductor hubs is already running above the national average. That suggests higher incomes in the technology sector are beginning to support local consumption.
Luxury companies could be among the beneficiaries. Wealth creation in Asia has historically supported demand for premium goods, and rising incomes among semiconductor employees could provide another source of spending.
A similar effect is emerging in the United States. Recent technology listings have created significant wealth for founders and employees. Data-centre development is also generating income for landowners whose properties are being used for new facilities.
Morgan Stanley’s wealth management business attracted $148 billion of new assets in the second quarter of 2026, with more than half linked to recent initial public offerings. Financial advisers in technology-focused areas such as the San Francisco Bay Area are also competing to manage wealth created by technology companies. That money may increasingly move into property, travel, home improvement and other discretionary spending.
The impact of AI investment is also spreading into industrial sector. Data-centre construction requires electrical equipment, cooling systems and other infrastructure, creating demand well beyond semiconductor manufacturers.
AI hyperscalers have accounted for a significant share of recent growth in global capital expenditure, with much of that spending directed towards technology infrastructure. Continued expansion could support companies supplying equipment and services needed to build and operate data centres.
Ruffer Investment Company Limited (LON:RICA) is a British investment company dedicated to investments in internationally listed or quoted equities or equity related securities
