Elon Musk has officially broken the Guinness record for the largest wealth decline in a single year, with his net worth dropping by $182 billion in 2022. The previous record was held by Japanese investor Masayoshi Son, who lost $58.6 billion in 2000. According to Guinness, this decline in Musk’s wealth has been confirmed as the world record for the largest loss of wealth in history.
The decline in Musk’s wealth was primarily due to a significant drop in Tesla stock, which saw a decrease of approximately 65% over the past year, marking the worst loss in market capitalization in the history of the electric vehicle company. This situation has caused Musk to lose his title as the richest person in the world, a position currently held by Bernard Arnault, the French luxury goods mogul.
Financial Situation of Other Billionaires
Musk is not the only billionaire who witnessed a decline in wealth in 2022. American billionaires collectively lost a total of $660 billion during the year. If it weren’t for Musk, the record for wealth loss would belong to Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, who lost $80 billion, while Mark Zuckerberg also reported a decline of $78 billion in his net worth.
Economic Context and Tesla’s Situation
Musk’s peak wealth reached around $320 billion at the end of 2021. However, as of January 10, his net worth was only $142.1 billion, ranking him second on the global billionaire list, just ahead of Gautam Adani, who has $125.1 billion.
Since acquiring Twitter in October for $44 billion, Musk has had to sell $23 billion in Tesla stock to finance the deal. After realizing that the acquisition price for Twitter was excessively high, Musk announced that he would step down from the CEO position of Twitter once a suitable replacement was found.
Tesla’s Future
Throughout 2022, Tesla’s stock plummeted nearly 70%, and investors are calling for the board to pressure Musk to refocus on the company. Analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush Securities noted that Musk’s leadership situation poses significant risks for Tesla, as the company is forced to lower vehicle prices and inventory increases amidst a global economic downturn.
As of 2023, the situation appears to be improving, as by January 10, Tesla’s stock has risen nearly 10%. This offers a glimmer of hope for Musk and investors regarding the future of Tesla in a volatile market.
