(Bloomberg) – Elon Musk broke records last year for one of the fastest sequences of wealth accumulation in history. The reversal is underway and is steep.
Tesla Inc.’s CEO has lost $ 27 billion since Monday, with the automaker’s shares plummeting in the liquidation of technology stocks. His net worth of $ 156.9 billion still puts him in second place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, but now he is almost $ 20 billion behind Jeff Bezos, who he overcame last week as the richest person in the world .
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Elon Musk visits Germany
Elon Musk
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Musk’s downfall only underscores the difficult speed of his ascent. Tesla’s shares rose 743% in 2020, increasing the value of its stake and unlocking billions of dollars in options through its historic “moonshot” compensation package.
Its gains accelerated in the new year. In January, he ousted Bezos as the richest person in the world. Musk’s fortune peaked at the end of that month at $ 210 billion, according to the index, a ranking of the 500 richest people in the world.
Consistent quarterly earnings, the election of President Joe Biden with his adoption of clean technologies and the enthusiasm of retail investors fueled the company’s rise, but for some, its growing appreciation was emblematic of unsustainable foam in technology. The Nasdaq 100 index fell for the third consecutive week on Friday, its longest series of declines since September.
Bitcoin investment
Musk’s fortune is not just subject to the forces that affect the technology industry. Its net worth has risen and fallen recently along with the price of Bitcoin. Tesla disclosed last month that it added $ 1.5 billion in cryptocurrencies to its balance sheet. Musk’s fortune took a hit of $ 15 billion two weeks later, after he meditated on Twitter that prices for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies “look high”.
Extreme volatility has shaken many of the world’s biggest fortunes this year. The richest person in Asia, Chinese bottled water tycoon Zhong Shanshan, handed over the title to Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani last month, after losing more than $ 22 billion in a matter of days.
Read more: Asia’s richest Ambani again with $ 22 billion Zhong Down from China
Quicken Loans Inc. Chairman Dan Gilbert’s net worth increased $ 25 billion on Monday after his mortgage lender Rocket Cos. It was considered the next target of Reddit day traders. Since then, his fortune has fallen by nearly $ 24 billion. Alphabet Inc. co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page are among the top earners on the index this year. Each has added more than $ 13 billion to his fortune since January 1.
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