Donald Trump’s second coming as the U.S. President was marked by the unwavering support of U.S. billionaires who had jettisoned their soured past with the President for a new beginning. On January 20, as Trump took the oath of office for his second term, some of the world’s richest individuals stood behind him in the Capitol Rotunda, basking in the glow of record-breaking stock market gains.
The group included Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bernard Arnault, and Sergey Brin, among others—billionaires who, despite a contentious history with Trump, had aligned with him this time, hoping to protect their wealth.
Ironically, just seven weeks later, these same billionaires are watching their fortunes collapse, with a staggering $209 billion wiped from their net worths, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The companies that fueled their wealth have collectively lost $1.39 trillion in market value since January 17, the final trading day before Trump’s inauguration.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 17 (June 9 – Sept 6, 2025) today for early bird discounts. Do annual for access to Blucera.com.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register to become a better CEO or Director with Tekedia CEO & Director Program.
A Relationship of Convenience
During Trump’s first term (2017–2021), many of these billionaires had a rocky relationship with the president. Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg faced direct attacks from Trump, while Sergey Brin openly protested his immigration policies. Elon Musk, after initially joining Trump’s advisory council, quit in 2017 over the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.
This time, however, the billionaires took a different approach. Their decision to align with Trump was a strategic move, aimed at ensuring that his policies worked in their favor—from tax cuts to deregulation and corporate-friendly economic policies.
Amazon, Meta and some others, donated $1 million each to Trump’s inauguration fund. Bezos dined with the president in February. Musk, once a critic, began publicly supporting Trump’s stance on free speech and attacking Democrats on his social media platform, X. Even Brin, who once led protests against Trump, attended a private dinner at Mar-a-Lago.
The logic was simple: Trump’s pro-business stance could benefit their companies and portfolios. But that gamble, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, has backfired spectacularly.
The period between Trump’s reelection and inauguration was a financial goldmine for these billionaires. The S&P 500 surged to record highs, Tesla stock nearly doubled, and luxury markets boomed. The expectation was that Trump’s second term would fuel further market gains.
Instead, Trump’s return to power has triggered market turmoil. The S&P 500 has fallen 6.4% since January 20, with a sharp 2.7% drop on March 10 alone. Trump has also embarked on mass layoffs of government employees and trade tariffs that have rattled Wall Street. Investors are increasingly concerned about the president’s unpredictability, leading to a wave of panic selling in some of the market’s biggest names.
For the billionaires who bet on Trump to safeguard their wealth, the irony is now undeniable.
The Billionaires Who Took the Hardest Hit
Elon Musk: Down $148 Billion
Elon Musk has suffered the biggest loss among Trump’s billionaire backers, with $148 billion wiped from his fortune. Tesla, which had surged 98% in the weeks after Trump’s election, has since lost all those gains.
The reasons behind Tesla’s collapse:
- European consumers are rejecting Tesla over Musk’s right-wing politics, leading to a 70% sales decline in Germany in early 2024.
- Chinese Tesla sales have plunged 49% in February, falling to their lowest level since 2022.
- Trump’s trade policies have created uncertainty over EV subsidies, discouraging buyers.
Jeff Bezos: Down $29 Billion
Bezos, 61, had a bitter relationship with Trump during his first term, with Trump constantly attacking him over Amazon’s business practices and his ownership of The Washington Post.
But in Trump’s second term, Bezos changed course. Amazon made a publicized $1 million donation to Trump’s inauguration fund, and Bezos met privately with the president in February.
Amazon stock, however, has nosedived 14% since January 17, wiping out nearly $30 billion of Bezos’s fortune.
Sergey Brin: Down $22 Billion
Brin’s company, Alphabet, has since lost billions, with stock prices tumbling 7% in early February. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has intensified its antitrust battle against Google, a case that could force a breakup of the company’s search engine division.
Mark Zuckerberg: Down $5 Billion
Meta was initially one of the biggest winners from Trump’s reelection, rising 19% from mid-January to mid-February.
Zuckerberg, who had previously banned Trump from Facebook, appeared to quietly rebuild ties, with Meta adopting a more hands-off approach to content moderation.
But those early gains have evaporated, with Meta stock plunging, mirroring the 20% drop in the broader Magnificent Seven tech index.
Bernard Arnault: Down $5 Billion
Arnault, chairman of LVMH, has been a friend of Trump for decades, speaking with him personally after the Pennsylvania assassination attempt in July 2024.
Luxury markets initially surged following Trump’s election, as investors expected his policies to favor the ultra-wealthy. But LVMH’s rally has collapsed, driven by fears of Trump’s proposed tariffs on European luxury goods, which could cripple sales and a decline in global luxury spending, as economic uncertainty grows.
A Bitter Irony
Trump’s presidency has so far brought instability rather than prosperity, with erratic tariff policies, uncertainty over tech regulation, and widespread government layoffs sending markets into a tailspin.
The billionaires who once defied Trump, then embraced him, have not been spared. To make matters worse, it is quite uncertain the tides are going to change any time soon, given Trump’s unflinching stance in using tariffs as bargaining power. This means that the billionaires are in for a long rough ride.