Elon Musk has broken the world record for the largest loss of personal wealth in history, according to Guinness World Records Report.
The tech billionaire has lost nearly $182 billion (£150 billion) since November 2021, although other sources suggest he could actually be close to $200 billion, The report said.
“Musk’s net worth has fallen from a peak of $320 billion in 2021 to $138 billion as of January 2023, largely due to the poor performance of Tesla stock,” said the World Records database, citing figures obtained from Forbes.
Although the report acknowledges that the exact figure is “almost impossible to ascertain”, it notes that Musk’s total losses “far exceed” the previous record of $58.6 billion (£47 billion), set by the Japanese tech investor. Masayoshi’s son in 2000.
In December, the head of Tesla lost his position as the richest person in the world to Bernard Arnault, CEO of the French luxury goods group LVMH, which owns the fashion brand Louis Vuitton.
Forbes estimates As of January 12th Arnault’s net worth has been estimated at $203.7 billion (£168 billion) and Musk’s worth at $146.5 billion (£121 billion).
The Guinness World Records report said that the majority of Musk’s wealth is tied to Tesla stocks, which have fallen in value by 65% in the turbulent year of 2022.
The decline accelerated in October after Musk bought Twitter For about $44 billion (£36 billion), she said.
Growing concerns about weak demand and logistical problems have hampered deliveries to the world’s most expensive automaker.
As the market closes for the year on December 30, 2022, Musk tweeted: “The long-term fundamentals are very strong. The short-term market frenzy is unpredictable.”
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