Elon Musk has earned a place in the Guinness World Records for the largest ever loss of personal wealth after Tesla stock plummeted.
The Twitter and Tesla chief executive – who was overtaken as the world’s richest man in December – has lost about £153bn ($182bn) since November 2021, according to estimates by Forbes.
Oher sources suggest that it could actually be closer to £170bn ($200bn).
According to Forbes, Musk‘s net worth dropped from a peak of $320bn in 2021 to $138bn as of January 2023, largely due to the poor performance of Tesla’s stock.
A Guinness World Records report said while the exact figure of Musk’s losses is “almost impossible to ascertain”, his total losses “far surpass” the previous record of $58.6bn set by Japanese tech investor Masayoshi Son in 2000.
Musk slipped to second place on the global rich list at the end of last year, overtaken by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault.
Arnault’s net worth is listed as $203.7bn (£168bn) on the Forbes list, while Musk’s is listed at $146.5bn (£121bn).
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Musk had been the world’s richest man since September 2021, taking over from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Tesla stocks more than halved in value in 2022, partially due to a sell-off that accelerated in the wake of Musk’s $44bn (£35.5bn) Twitter take-off, CNBC reported, where he sold off $4bn (£3.2bn) of Tesla stock.
The report points out the net worth of billionaires is “much more volatile and variable” than that of the average earner.
“This is because the bulk of a billionaire’s fortune typically takes the form of shares and investments. As the market valuation of these investments fluctuates, so too does their owner’s apparent wealth.”
It added: “As Elon Musk continues to build his own tech conglomerate, we won’t be surprised to see him bounce back too at some point in the future.”
