Elon Musk has lost his status as a trillionaire after a sharp global sell-off in technology stocks erased an estimated $500 billion (£379 billion) from his personal wealth.
The billionaire entrepreneur had recently become the first person in history to surpass the $1 trillion mark following a surge in the valuation of his rocket company, SpaceX. However, the company’s shares have since dropped about 30 percent from their peak, while Tesla was swept up in a broader technology market decline on Tuesday, June 23.
According to Bloomberg estimates, Musk’s net worth has fallen to $957.1 billion. Forbes previously calculated that his fortune peaked at approximately $1.45 trillion last week. The amount wiped from Musk’s wealth over the past week alone exceeds the entire estimated fortune of Google co-founder Larry Page, whose net worth is just under $297 billion.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs has warned that artificial intelligence-related stocks could face further pressure if major technology companies show signs of reducing spending on AI investments.
Ben McKeown, an investment manager at Dowgate Wealth, said Musk’s fortune remains particularly vulnerable because it is heavily concentrated in just two assets.
“The old adage is that you concentrate to build wealth and diversify to keep it. Musk is perhaps the most extreme example of this. The vast majority of his wealth is tied to Tesla and SpaceX, both of which have experienced significant volatility, especially SpaceX as more shareholders gain the freedom to sell their holdings,” McKeown said.
Musk briefly became the world’s first trillionaire on June 12 after SpaceX shares soared following the company’s stock market debut. The stock gained as much as 67 percent during its first three trading days after an IPO that valued the company at more than $1.8 trillion.
Since then, however, SpaceX shares have fallen for three straight trading sessions, wiping out roughly $928 billion in market value. The company’s valuation dropped from a peak of $2.9 trillion to just above $2 trillion before staging a modest recovery.
The latest decline is believed to be the largest personal wealth loss ever recorded, surpassing Musk’s previous record setback in 2022, when a slump in Tesla shares reduced his fortune by an estimated $165 billion.
Other billionaires have also been hit by the recent market turbulence. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, whose net worth reached around $400 billion last September, has seen his fortune fall to about $210 billion following a significant decline in Oracle shares.
The losses come amid two consecutive days of weakness on Wall Street. Tesla shed more than $89 billion in market value after its stock fell 5.8 percent on Tuesday, while chipmaker Nvidia dropped 4.1 percent during the same session.
Market analysts have cautioned that further volatility could lie ahead as memory-chip manufacturer Micron Technology prepares to release its third-quarter earnings results. Investors remain concerned that valuations across the artificial intelligence sector may have become overheated.
