Elon Musk became the only person in human history to lose $200 billion from their net worth, Bloomberg Billionaire Index showed. After Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Musk was the second person with more than $200 billion of “personal fortune”, a figure he achieved in January 2021.
What exactly has led to decline in Musk’s wealth?
Elon Musk’s wealth plummeted to $137 billion after Tesla shares declined in recent weeks. This includes a massive 11 per cent fall in Tesla shares on December 27.
Tesla is now offering consumers in the United States a $7,500 discount for its two highest-volume models before year-end. It has also reportedly reduced production at its Shanghai plant.
Musk’s fortune topped at $340 billion in November 2021. Following this, he was the world’s richest person for consecutive months till more than a year. He was then overtaken this month by Bernard Arnault, the French business magnate and co-founder of luxury goods powerhouse LVMH.
Musk acquired the social media platform for $44 billion in late October. To help cover his Twitter purchase, Musk sold his significant stake in Tesla. The electric carmaker is no longer his biggest asset.
Musk’s declining wealth and raised interest rates
Elon Musk has repeatedly taken to Twitter to take on the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates at the fastest pace in decades.
“Tesla is executing better than ever!” Musk wrote on Twitter on December 16. “We don’t control the Federal Reserve. That is the real problem here.”
A report in Bloomberg cited a recent Elon Musk appearance in a podcast in which the billionaire business magnate is heard warning against the dangers of borrowed money during a volatile market phase.
“I would really advise people not to have margin debt in a volatile stock market and you know, from a cash standpoint, keep the powder dry,” Musk is cited to have said in the All-In podcast released this month. “You can get some pretty extreme things happening in a down market.”
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