The 25 richest people on the planet have lost a combined USD $200 billion (AUD $300 billion), according to a new report.
Forbes’ 2023 World Billionaires List has not painted a healthy picture for those who are richer than rich.
But don’t celebrate too soon, as the top one per cent is still worth USD $2.1 trillion (AUD 3.1 trillion).
The report showed that 254 people lost their billionaire status in the past year and and the remaining 2,640 billionaires lost a combined USD $500 billion (AUD $750 billion).
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“Two-thirds of the top 25 are poorer than they were last year, compared to around half of the list overall,” Forbes wrote.
The report also shows that among the hardest billionaire hit was Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who saw his fortune drop by USD $57 billion (AUD $85 billion) in a year.
According to NPR, Amazon faced its first unprofitable year in 2022 since 2014, losing around USD $2.7 billion (USD $4.06 billion).
The outlet reported that the biggest culprit for the retail and tech giant's losses over the year was the company's investment in the electric automaker Rivian, whose value plummeted last year.
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The second hardest-hit billionaire was Elon Musk, with his net worth plummeting by USD $39 billion (AUD $58 billion).
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index reported that the Tesla CEO lost around USD $100 billion (AUD $151.4 billion) from his net worth in 2022.
His company faced economic hardship due to China's severe lockdown restrictions, Tesla’s biggest market outside the US.
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Additionally, over 350,000 Tesla vehicles had been recalled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because of concerns about their self-driving-assistance software.
Around 29,348 Model X vehicles were reported to have faulty airbags, while more than 300,000 vehicles had a tail light problem.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also said there were at least two accounts of the steering wheel detaching on Tesla's Model Y vehicles.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that fillings indicate that due to Musk purchasing Twitter in October, he took on USD $13 billion (AUD $19.5 billion) in debt.
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And, because of hefty bills, Musk and his financial advisers are cutting costs left, right and center at his new company.
The New York Times reported that the South African business magnate eliminated nearly half of Twitter's workforce within a week of closing the deal, which equaled around 3,700 jobs.
Topics: News, Money, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos