Elon Musk has lost $135bn of his vast wealth since the beginning of the year — equivalent to almost half of SA’s GDP and more than the budget presented by the National Treasury last month — as “Trumpenomics” wreaks havoc in global markets and hits billionaires, particularly US tech magnates.
The SA-born billionaire’s fortune fell a further $4.4bn, according to data from Bloomberg billionaires’ index, but he still remains the world’s richest person, with a net worth of $298bn — more than SA’s national debt.
SA’s richest people, Johann Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer, have not been spared the wealth destruction. Oppenheimer’s net worth is down $1.2bn since the beginning of the year, while Rupert is $498m poorer.
The Rupert family, led by patriarch Johann, had a solid start to the year, adding about $2.8bn to their wealth by February as their investments — Richemont in particular — enjoyed a purple patch.
However, the trade war started by the Trump administration’s introduction of sweeping tariffs has weighed heavily on sentiment and caused mayhem in global financial markets, hitting the equities market especially hard.
Musk, a critic of SA’s transformation policies, has taken centre stage in US domestic politics after backing Donald Trump’s successful election campaign.
Trump rewarded Musk by appointing him to oversee the slashing of US government jobs and other spending cuts via the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), courting severe criticism from Democrats.
Shares in Musk’s cash cow, Tesla, have tumbled from a record high in December after Trump’s victory, as investors grew critical of Musk’s political activities and protesters across the US, angered by the cutting of government jobs, set Tesla vehicles on fire.
The second Trump presidency and his America First agenda have hurt the pockets of the world’s richest people — dominated by Americans.
The world’s 10 richest people have lost a combined $370bn since the start of the year, with Musk accounting for nearly half of that. However, feted investor Warren Buffett has added $11.5bn to his wealth, shielded by his diversified portfolio.
E-commerce and tech barons Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg have lost $42.6bn and $24.5bn, respectively.
Oil and industrial magnate Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, has shed just $188m of his almost $28bn net worth.
Oxfam in February said the wealth of the world’s billionaires surged by $2-trillion in 2024 — three times faster than the year before — and predicted there would be five dollar trillionaires in the next decade as the gap between the rich and poor widens.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.