Sliding stocks on Wednesday resulted in almost $66 billion in losses for the world’s ten wealthiest people. Tech stocks, including Tesla and Alphabet, saw significant drops following disappointing second quarter earnings reports.
The biggest loser of the day was Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who lost $17.1 billion, bringing his net worth to $231 billion. Despite this loss, Musk remains the world’s richest person, maintaining a $33 billion lead over Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos, who lost $5.2 billion as Amazon shares fell.
Industries beyond tech were also affected, with LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault losing $8.4 billion after the luxury group’s second quarter earnings missed analysts’ estimates. Arnault’s net worth dropped to $181.8 billion, making him the world’s third richest person.
Other top billionaires who experienced losses on Wednesday include Larry Ellison from Oracle, who lost $6 billion, and Mark Zuckerberg from Meta, who lost $9.5 billion. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the cofounders of Alphabet, lost a combined $13.9 billion following a drop in Alphabet shares.
Warren Buffett had a relatively good day compared to others in the top ten, with a loss of $312 million. Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer from Microsoft both saw declines of $1.7 billion and $3.8 billion, respectively, due to a drop in Microsoft shares.
Overall, the downturn in the stock market on Wednesday had a significant impact on the net worth of the world’s wealthiest individuals, with tech stocks being particularly hard hit. Despite these losses, many of the top billionaires still maintain their positions as the richest people in the world.
