Elon Musk’s net worth took a pounding in 2022, spiraling downward from its lofty $340 billion record in November 2021, to $137 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which makes him the first person in history to lose $200 billion.
The significant drop in Musk’s fortune was as a result of the plunge of Tesla’s stock, which has fallen 65% since last year. With his fortune largely tied to Tesla’s shares, Musk has got into the Guinness World Records as the biggest loser of personal fortune in history.
Japanese tech investor Masayoshi Son, previously held the record with a whopping $58.6 billion loss in 2000.
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With his current $137 billion fortune, Musk is ranked the second richest person in the world behind the founder of luxury goods conglomerate, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) Chairman Bernard Arnault, who is now the world’s richest man with estimated net worth of $175 billion.
However, it is expected that Musk will regain the first place at Billionaires Index this year, as soon as Tesla shares return to bull runs.
In February 2000, when Son’s net worth nosedived, it was a decline from a peak of $78 billion to $19.4 billion in July of the same year. His misfortune was attributed to Softbank’s ordeal, which was hit hard by the dot-com crash. The Japanese company’s situation deteriorated and Son’s net worth was reduced by as much as $5 billion in a single day.
However, Softbank later bounced back, recouping its losses and also making more. The conglomerate, which is now a notorious venture capitalist, has gone on to acquire many companies around the world, including British and American firms. Following its recovery, Son regained his wealth.
Many have made reference to this situation as Tesla’s value and Musk’s net worth take a beating. Tesla’s shares decline has been largely attributed to Musk’s focus on Twitter, his newly acquired social media company that he is working to transform. Musk has sold Tesla shares worth billions of dollars to fund his Twitter adventure; a development investor said it’s hurting the company.
Experts believe that Tesla stock will rise again as soon as Musk returns his full attention to the electric vehicle company. This also means that Musk will be back as the World’s richest man once again.
Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX, has attributed Tesla’s misfortune to current global economic headwinds. But he is also optimistic that the situation will change in the long term.
“Long-term fundamentals are extremely strong. Short-term market madness is unpredictable,” Musk wrote in a post on Twitter.
While Musk dropped to the second spot in the Billionaires’ Index, Tesla still holds its place as the world’s most valuable automaker. The EV company has more $100 billion on its market capitalization than Toyota, its closest rival.
Analysts say Tesla is “still one of the most transformational companies over the next decade.” The company last week slashed the cost of some of its car models in its Asian markets, a move that analysts believe will boost sales and accelerate its recovery.