In just 24 hours, three of the world’s most powerful business magnates Elon Musk, Mukesh Ambani, and Gautam Adani collectively lost a staggering $19.8 billion from their personal fortunes.
Together, the trio, whose combined net worth stood at $569.7 billion as of July 25, saw billions evaporate in a single trading session.
Topping the list of losses was Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, whose net worth fell by $15.3 billion to $399.5 billion an abrupt 3.7% drop after Tesla shares slumped by –8% on Thursday.
Mukesh Ambani, the Indian oil-to-tech conglomerate leader, shed $2.3 billion, bringing his total fortune to $105.3 billion. Meanwhile, fellow Indian billionaire Gautam Adani saw $2.2 billion wiped from his portfolio, leaving him with $64.9 billion.
Musk, 54, has long been the face of audacious innovation, cofounding a host of companies including Tesla, SpaceX, and the more recent artificial intelligence venture xAI.
He owns approximately 12% of Tesla, although half of those shares are pledged as collateral for loans reportedly valued at up to $3.5 billion.
Some contexts on all three billionaires
In early 2024, a Delaware court invalidated a 2018 compensation deal that would have granted him an additional 9% in Tesla stock though Musk is currently appealing that decision.
His stakes in SpaceX, which was valued at $350 billion in a private sale late last year, and xAI, reportedly worth $50 billion as of November 2024, further anchor his wealth.
Yet even with these assets, his investment in Twitter renamed X has been a sore spot. Since acquiring the platform for $44 billion in 2022, its value has plummeted by nearly 70%, according to Forbes estimates.
Mukesh Ambani, 67, chairs Reliance Industries, the $120 billion conglomerate founded by his father, Dhirubhai Ambani, in 1966. Originally a textile manufacturer, Reliance has grown into a behemoth with tentacles in oil and gas, telecommunications, retail, media, and financial services.
The company’s mobile and broadband arm, Jio, boasts 490 million subscribers, and its finance division, Jio Financial Services, was listed in July 2023. Ambani has also been steering the firm into renewable energy, with an $80 billion investment plan over the next decade. His three children Akash, Isha, and Anant joined the board in 2023, each managing key verticals within the empire.
Gautam Adani, 62, helms the Adani Group, a sprawling conglomerate headquartered in Ahmedabad, with business interests ranging from logistics to green energy. Starting as a commodities trading firm in 1988, the group rose through aggressive acquisitions and political backing. Adani commands India’s largest port, Mundra, and is the country’s biggest airport operator.
In early 2023, a damning report by Hindenburg Research accused his group of financial misconduct. Though Adani denied wrongdoing and faced a market rout, his companies bounced back after India’s Supreme Court cleared the group of any regulatory violations in 2024.
