Elon Musk has seen the biggest loss in wealth out of the billionaire group
Five of the billionaires present at Trump’s swearing-in on 20 January have seen their combined drop by a whopping $209 billion just seven weeks later, a Bloomberg analysis has found.
Musk, a member of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the world’s richest man, has experienced the biggest loss out of the group, with his wealth dropping by $148 billion since the inauguration.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is down $29 billion since 20 January, while co-founder of Google, Sergey Brin, has lost $22 billion.
Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg lost $5 billion, and Bernard Arnault, owner of the conglomerate behind Louis Vuitton and Dior and longtime friend of Trump, lost $5 billion.
Before the swearing-in, these billionaires saw their wealth soar as investors poured in money, anticipating that Trump’s policies would benefit business.
Musk’s Tesla Inc. surged by 98% in the weeks after Trump’s election, hitting a record high.
Arnault’s company LVMH added 7% in the week before Inauguration Day, making the French tycoon $12 billion richer.
Zuckerberg’s Meta, which banned Trump in 2021, went up by 9% before the start of his second presidential term and 20% in the first four weeks in office.
Bloomberg also found that the companies behind the billionaires’ fortunes have been some of the biggest losers, dropping a combined $1.39 trillion in market value since 17 January, the last trading day before the inauguration.
Yesterday, Tesla lost £29 billion in a day. As consumers go sour on Musk, Tesla sales across Europe have plummeted by 45% compared to a year ago, and the carmaker’s shares are now worth less than they were before Trump’s election win.
This week, Trump bought a Tesla in support of Musk and blamed “Radical Left Lunatics” for “illegally” boycotting the electric vehicle company.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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