When it comes to the financial world of trading and investing, many people idolize Elon Musk. He is a man with an exorbitant amount of knowledge on all things monetary, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t human enough to make mistakes here and there. In fact, one of the biggest ended up in a loss of a lot of money. Not from his companies, but his personal money.
Elon Musk makes daring investments
According to the Guinness World Record. Elon Musk holds the place for the biggest loss of personal money since November 2021. Before him, it was a Japanese tech investor called Masayoshi Son. He lost $58.6 billion in 2000. Although “the exact figure is almost impossible to ascertain,” as the Guinness World Record stated, Musk is approximately $182bn. However, there are some who say the amount is sitting a bit higher. Like over $200bn.
The Global Records database said: “Musk’s net worth dropped from a peak of $320bn in 2021 to $138bn as of January 2023, largely due to the poor performance of Tesla’s stock.” They got their figures from Forbes. In 2021, Musk’s net worth was at an all-time high of $320bn to $138bn in January 2023. this is a substantial loss.
Why did Musk’s money disappear?
Experts have suggested that buying Twitter sent Musks’s stocks into a downward spiral. He took to Twitter to convince the people saying it was because of Twitter that it was because of the poor performance of Tesla’s stocks. “As bank savings account interest rates, which are guaranteed, start to approach stock market returns, which are not guaranteed, people will increasingly move their money out of stocks into cash, thus causing stocks to drop,” he wrote in a response to a Tweet made by Ross Gerber. Ross was saying the result of Tesla’s downside is the result of no CEO.” He nominated himself for the job.
Musk bought Twitter in April of 2022, and became the CEO of the leading Social media platform of today’s age. Since then, his share dropped a whopping 59%. This has led people to believe that buying Twitter may not have been Elon’s brightest idea. Musk even went as far as to tell the employees of Twitter that he sold shares to save the platform. But, he ended up retrenching half of the workers anyway.
″Only some of the drop in Tesla’s value can be blamed on interest rates. Twitter overhang is one important component,” said Joshua White, a professor assistant from Vanderbilt University. “China is another huge component. We still don’t know if China will be open all the way, and we see there is supply and demand pressure here in light of the increase in covid cases, and disruptions.”
He added: “He seems to sell equity in really large blocks, say ‘I’m done and I’m not selling anymore.’ But talk is cheap. He says that and then sells more shares. So the more you say that and investors think he’s probably not done? The less confident they will be that the price is going to bounce back.”
New Richest man in the world
Elon Musk was the richest man in the world for some time now. Since November 2021, his financial status has plummeted along with the loss of $182bn. He is no longer the richest man in the world, and someone has taken his place.
A French Businessman is the new richest man in the world. Bernard Arnault is the founder of the luxury goods conglomerate that owns the fashion label, Louis Vuitton. His net worth is estimated at $189bn.
Sources
- “Elon Musk tries to explain why Tesla shares are tanking.” CNBC. Laura Kolodny
- “Musk Breaks World Record, Losing The Most Personal Wealth Of Anybody In History.” IFL Science. James Felton. January 12, 2023
- “Elon Musk breaks world record for largest loss of personal fortune in history.” The Guardian. Samantha Lock. January 12, 2023