Elon Musk’s drop in fortunes breaks world record
Image credit: BBC
Elon Musk has surpassed the previous record for the biggest loss of personal fortune in history.
A blog entry on the Guinness World Records website claims that between November 2021 and December 2022, he lost more than $165 billion.
Although the calculations were based on information from publisher Forbes, Guinness pointed out that other sources suggested Mr. Musk’s losses might have been worse.
It comes after Mr. Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla, saw its stock value drop after he acquired Twitter last year.
Investors are worried that Mr. Musk is no longer giving Tesla enough attention as a result of his $44 billion (£36 billion) acquisition of the social media business.
The sum lost by Mr. Musk since November 2021 surpasses the previous record set by Masayoshi Son, a Japanese tech investor who lost $58.6 billion (£47 billion) in 2000.
The anticipated loss is based on the value of his shares, which might increase in value again, increasing Mr. Musk’s wealth.
The CEO of French luxury goods company LVMH, which owns the fashion label Louis Vuitton, Bernard Arnault, replaced the Tesla CEO as the richest man in the world in December. LVMH is the parent company of Louis Vuitton.
In 2022, the value of Tesla shares decreased by almost 65%, in part due to Tesla’s performance. Just 1.3 million automobiles were delivered by the company throughout the year, falling short of Wall Street projections.
The majority of the share price decline, however, can be attributed to Mr. Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, where he has stirred up controversy by firing a sizable number of employees and altering content moderation procedures.
Many Tesla investors think he should be concentrating on the electric vehicle manufacturer as it is experiencing declining demand due to recessionary fears, escalating competition, and production issues related to COVID.
Fundamentals are remarkably durable over the long term. “Short-notice market insanity is unusual.” After the stock markets closed for the year in December 2022, Mr. Musk tweeted.
Elon Musk is currently valued at more than $178 billion (£152 billion), while Bernard Arnault is worth an estimated $188 billion (£155 billion), according to Forbes.