- Stock markets tumbled last week on fears about rising interest rates and inflation.
- The tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell 8% week-on-week, and is 13% lower year-to-date.
- The world’s five richest tech tycoons have collectively lost about $85 billion in year-to-date in 2022.
The world’s five richest tech tycoons collectively lost $85.07 billion of their wealth in the first few weeks of 2022 as their fortunes took a big hit from last week’s market selloff.
The losses sent the fortune of the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, down to $243 billion — some $27 billion lower than at the start of the year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. It’s also nearly $100 billion lower than November 2021, when Musk’s net worth peaked at $335 billion.
The world’s second-richest person, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has lost about $25 billion in 2022.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates saw a $9.5 billion drop in his net worth since January 1, while Google co-founder Larry Page’s net worth decreased by $12 billion. Rounding out the losses is Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, whose net worth also dropped by about $12 billion so far this year.
All five saw losses in their tech stock holdings. Last week, the benchmark tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell about 8% on the back of multiple factors including rising interest rates and inflation. The Nasdaq is down about 13% year-to-date.
According to Bloomberg, the only billionaire in the top five who did not lose any money last week was Bernard Arnault, the chairman and CEO of French luxury giant LVMH. Even so, Arnault’s wealth is down $10.5 billion so far this year, with LVMH share prices down 5% year-to-date on the back of a broader market rout.
Here’s how the world’s six wealthiest people are faring on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of January 24:
