Why world billionaires are set to lose nearly $500,000,000,000 in two days

Here's the reason why many world billionaires are set to lose close to $500,000,000,000 in just 48 hours.

According to Forbes data released last year, the collective wealth of the top 12 billionaires increased massively compared to previous data - suggesting the rich are getting richer.

The billionaires list and their combined wealth became the topic of conversation on Reddit, with the vast majority shocked at the staggering combined figure of $2 trillion.

And while billionaires such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg remain incredibly rich, their net worth has decreased since Donald Trump returned to the White House as president in January.

Musk is losing money (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Just seven weeks after the start of Trump’s second term in office, the group of Musk, Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault and Sergey Brin lost $209 billion in their collective wealth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The publication stated that is was due to the S&P 500 index dropping by nearly seven percent since Trump returned as president.

Since then, the Republican president has announced a 10 percent ‘baseline’ tax would apply globally - with higher rates slapped on a 60-strong country list dubbed as Trump’s ‘worst offenders’.

The new tariffs came during a White House Rose Garden Address on Wednesday (April 2) in what Trump dubbed ‘Liberation Day’ for the United States.

Bloomberg revealed that the weeks between Trump's election and his inauguration, the S&P 500 index reached several historical highs as investors jumped on the stock and cryptocurrency markets.

And now, the world's 500 richest people have suffered the biggest two-day loss ever on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index amid the measures introduced by President Trump.

From Thursday's (April 3) stock market open to Friday's (April 4) close, billionaires on the wealth list lost a collective $536 billion as the S&P 500 Index dropped considerably in less than 48 hours.

Trump's tariffs have had a major impact (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Many have spoken out against Trump's tariffs in recent days, including former president Barack Obama.

In a speech at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, on Thursday (April 3), Obama said: "Look, I don't think what we just witnessed in terms of economic policy and tariffs is going to be good for America, but that's a specific policy.

"I'm more deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don't give up students who are exercising their right to free speech.

"I am more troubled by the idea that a White House can say to law firms, 'If you represent parties that we don't like, we're going to pull all our business or bar you from representing people effectively.'

"That kind of behavior is contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans."