The beginning of Donald Trump’s second time period has been financially devastating for a few of the world’s wealthiest people, with 5 billionaires, together with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, dropping a mixed $209 billion, in line with Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
When Trump was sworn in on January 20, 2025, he was surrounded by a few of the world’s richest males, lots of whom had seen their fortunes surge following his election win. The S&P 500 Index had hit file highs, and traders have been optimistic that Trump’s insurance policies would profit the enterprise neighborhood.
The weeks between Trump’s election and inauguration have been a goldmine for these tycoons, with main firms experiencing large progress. Musk’s Tesla, for instance, noticed its inventory leap by 98%, and even Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms Inc. noticed important positive aspects within the weeks main as much as Inauguration Day.
Nevertheless, simply seven weeks into his second time period, the image has drastically modified. The inventory market has been rattled by mass authorities layoffs and Trump’s fluctuating stance on tariffs, which has left traders uneasy.
Since Trump took workplace, the S&P 500 has dropped by 6.4%, and the businesses behind the fortunes of those billionaires have seen a mixed lack of $1.39 trillion in market worth.
Greatest losers:
Elon Musk (-$148 billion): Musk had the biggest drop in wealth, along with his internet price plummeting by $148 billion. Tesla’s inventory, which soared by 98% after Trump’s election victory, has since reversed its positive aspects. Gross sales in Europe have been sluggish, with Tesla’s gross sales in Germany dropping by greater than 70% in early 2025. Moreover, Chinese language shipments fell by 49% in February, marking the worst decline since mid-2022. A lot of this drop has been attributed to Musk’s vocal help for far-right politicians, which has turned some shoppers away from the model.
Jeff Bezos (-$29 billion): Regardless of his contribution of $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, Bezos has seen his wealth diminish as Amazon’s inventory has fallen by 14% since January 17, 2025. Bezos, who had a public feud with Trump through the former president’s first time period, had congratulated Trump on social media after his election win. However even Bezos’ constructive gestures couldn’t forestall a big drop in Amazon’s inventory worth.
Sergey Brin (-$22 billion): The Google co-founder has additionally skilled a big loss, with Alphabet’s inventory dropping by greater than 7% in February 2025 after the corporate missed its income estimates. Brin’s losses additionally come amid elevated stress from the US Justice Division, which is pushing for a breakup of Alphabet’s search engine enterprise.
Mark Zuckerberg (-$5 billion): Meta, Zuckerberg’s firm, had a standout efficiency in the beginning of 2025, rising by 19% from mid-January to mid-February. Nevertheless, that momentum pale rapidly, and Meta’s inventory has since fallen, erasing its earlier positive aspects. The broader tech sector, together with the so-called “Magnificent Seven” shares, has additionally skilled a 20% drop since mid-December 2024.
Bernard Arnault (-$5 billion): Arnault, the French luxurious magnate who oversees LVMH, additionally suffered losses. LVMH’s inventory soared by greater than 20% from election evening to January 2025, but it surely has since given up most of these positive aspects. Analysts warn that Trump’s proposed tariffs on European luxurious items—starting from 10% to twenty%—may have a detrimental affect on LVMH’s gross sales, which have been already struggling earlier than the tariffs have been instructed.
The dramatic losses spotlight how rapidly fortunes can change in unstable markets. Within the weeks main as much as Trump’s second time period, optimism round his insurance policies, coupled with file highs within the S&P 500, had boosted the wealth of most of the world’s richest people.
Nevertheless, the beginning of Trump’s second time period has upended these positive aspects, leaving many of those billionaires grappling with a painful monetary reversal.
Whereas the ultra-wealthy benefitted from a inventory market surge through the transition between Trump’s election and inauguration, the following months have been a harsh reminder that monetary fortunes can change quickly.
Earlier President Trump made a extremely publicised buy of a pink Tesla Mannequin X on the White Home, alongside Tesla CEO and Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) Head Elon Musk.
The publicity stunt came about in entrance of a line-up of Tesla automobiles, together with the Cybertruck, on the South Garden of the White Home.
It comes after shares in Tesla fell over 15% amid considerations about assembly manufacturing targets and a drop in gross sales. Whereas Trump blamed a boycott by “radical left lunatics” for harming Elon Musk, analysts have pointed to fears about Tesla’s skill to satisfy supply expectations and Trump’s tariffs as the principle causes for the stoop.