The tech billionaires who had front-row seats as President Donald Trump was being sworn in on Jan. 20 – including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos – have seen their wealth drop by a staggering $210 billion combined as the president’s economic policies have upended markets, a Bloomberg analysis found.
The Trump-aligned billionaires had enjoyed the period between Trump’s election and inauguration as a boon for the world’s wealthiest, with several all-time highs recorded on the S&P 500 Index, according to the analysis. But seven weeks later, a different story has emerged — with five of the billionaires who sat behind Trump as he took the oath of office for a second time taking the multibillion dollar hit.
It represents a “stunning reversal,” the analysis said.
“The companies behind the inauguration attendees’ fortunes have been some of the biggest losers, falling by a combined $1.43 trillion in market value since Jan. 17, the last trading day before the inauguration,” Bloomberg reported.
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Musk, whose time heading Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative has drawn alarm from frustrated investors, has seen the most significant loss of the billionaire group – a whopping $145 billion hit since the president’s swearing-in ceremonies.
Bezos saw his wealth drop $31 billion, while Google founder Sergey Brin saw a $23 billion hit. Zuckerberg lost $8 billion and Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy CEO Bernard Arnault lost $5 billion, Bloomberg reported.
While Musk’s Tesla Inc. gained 98% in the weeks following Election Day – a record high – and the other billionaires’ companies also saw increases – “any expectations that the start of Trump’s new term would continue to fuel market returns have been upended,” the analysis found.
“The S&P 500 has lost almost 7% since he took office, as mass layoffs of government employees and the president’s back-and-forth on tariffs have roiled equities, with the benchmark index tumbling more than 3% on Monday,” it said.