Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk Have Lost $115B This Year So Far

Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk have taken big hits over the last five months, losing as much as a $115 billion to their combined net worths.

The billionaires are currently worth $123 billion, $139 billion, and $224 billion, respectively, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. But Gates, Bezos, and Musk were worth much more at the start of 2022 than they are now due to the falling stock market.

Gates has seen his net worth fall by $123 billion, while Bezos has suffered a $53.2 billion loss. Musk’s net worth has dropped by $46.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Musk, who is the richest person in the world, saw his wealth decrease as his 15.6% stake ($122 billion) in Tesla dipped 37% during the year, Business Insider reported.

The Tesla CEO also acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter as he planned to buy the social media platform in a $44 billion bid. But investors were skeptical of his focus, causing Tesla’s share price to drop as a result.

Musk also sold $8.4 billion in Tesla shares to help fund the acquisition, which has hit a stumbling block as the billionaire questioned the number of fake "bot" accounts on the social media platform.

Musk’s rival Bezos, who founded Amazon and is the second richest person in the world, saw his 50 million share stake ($115 billion) in the online retail giant decrease as the stock fell by almost one-third this year, Business Insider said.

Gates, who is the fourth richest person in the world and the co-founder of Microsoft, also suffered a stock spill but not as significant as Bezos or Musk.

Gates’ philanthropic organization, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is heavily invested in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which increased in value by more than 5% this year, the news outlet said.

But he has seen his tech investments fall as his stake in Cascade Investment declined amid rising inflation and declining consumer confidence, Business Insider said.

The third richest person in the world, Bernard Arnault, who is the chairman of luxury retailer LVMH, also saw his net worth drop at the beginning of 2022. Arnault’s value decreased by $44.7 billion to $133 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.