Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and Twitter, recently entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest loss of personal fortune, estimated by Forbes to be roughly $165 billion as of December 2022. He also recently became the first person ever to lose $200 billion from his net worth. In November 2021, Musk saw his fortune peak, hitting $340 billion before a massive drop.
The drop in Musk’s fortune is primarily due to the recent plummeting of Tesla shares. Musk's intense focus on leading a tumultuous turnaround of Twitter has caused growing concern among Tesla shareholders. Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in October for a whopping $44 billion also contributed to the decline of his wealth.
Musk’s fortune is primarily comprised of Tesla stock and options, and the automaker’s spiralling shares pose a particular risk for Musk, 51, who leveraged more of his position to finance his acquisition of Twitter. Musk's controversial conduct on the platform, combined with the turbulent acquisition, triggered the largest decline in Tesla's stock value since the company's initial public offering in 2010.
Despite the plunge in prosperity, Tesla remains the most valuable car company in the world, with a market cap of over $100 billion larger than their closest competitor, Toyota. Musk’s misfortunes also saw him lose his status as the world’s richest person to Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of luxury brand Louis Vuitton's parent company LVMH, who has an estimated net worth of $190 billion.
Elon Musk's net worth is mostly composed of Tesla stock, which saw a steep decline of 65% in 2022, causing a significant reduction in his fortune. Furthermore, his wealth was further reduced due to the recent decline in Tesla's shares, as per a Bloomberg report, and it has now reached $137 billion.
Musk is attempting to reassure investors that Tesla remains a solid investment. “Long-term fundamentals are extremely strong. Short-term market madness is unpredictable,” Musk tweeted after the market closed for the year on December 30, 2022.
In conclusion, Elon Musk currently holds the Guinness World Record for the largest loss of personal wealth. His acquisition of Twitter and the plummeting of Tesla shares were major contributors to the decline in his wealth. Despite this, Tesla remains the most valuable car company in the world, and Musk is still the world’s second-richest person.
