Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, founders of Amazon and Tesla respectively, emerged as the biggest losers in a 24-hour wealth wipeout that saw the world’s richest individuals lose a combined $134 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index data.
On Friday, the 60-year-old Bezos saw his net worth shrink by $15.2 billion as a broader market selloff erased $134 billion from the fortunes of the world’s 500 wealthiest people.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, also suffered a significant loss, with his net worth declining by $6.6 billion.
Amazon’s shares fell by 8.8%, bringing Bezos’ net worth down to $191.5 billion. This one-day loss is among the most significant in Bezos’ career, surpassed only by a $36 billion reduction following his divorce settlement in 2019 and a 14% drop in Amazon shares in April 2022.
The decline in Bezos’ fortune is part of a larger selloff in the technology sector, where the Nasdaq 100 Index fell by 2.4%. This downturn significantly impacted other tech moguls, including Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp., whose net worth dropped by $4.4 billion.
The market turmoil was driven by concerns over potential Federal Reserve rate cuts and disappointing earnings reports, which have pushed the tech-heavy index into correction territory, wiping out over $2 trillion in value within just three weeks.
Investor sentiment has also been dampened by fears that the rapid gains in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks this year may have been overextended, leading to worries that the market is too concentrated. Amazon’s stock suffered its steepest decline since April 2022 following the company’s earnings call, where it announced ongoing heavy investments in AI, even at the expense of short-term profitability.
Tech billionaires record a $68 billion wealth wipeout
Other technology billionaires, including Meta Platforms Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page, also saw significant declines in their net worths, each losing over $3 billion on Friday.
In total, tech tycoons saw $68 billion slashed from their fortunes, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index.
Bezos, who remains the world’s second-richest person at 60 years old, has been actively selling Amazon shares throughout the year.
In February, he offloaded approximately $8.5 billion worth of stock over nine trading days. Additionally, Bezos disclosed plans to sell another 25 million shares valued at $5 billion after Amazon recently reached a new record high. These planned sales would bring his total divestitures for the year to around $13.5 billion, leaving him with nearly 912 million shares, equivalent to about 8.8% of Amazon.
Beyond Amazon, Bezos’ wealth is also tied to his space exploration company, Blue Origin, and the Washington Post, which he owns. The market’s recent volatility highlights the vulnerability of even the wealthiest individuals to broader economic and market forces, particularly in the technology sector, which has experienced both extraordinary gains and significant corrections this year.
