Elon Musk to Jeff Bezos, billionaires who attended Donald Trump’s inauguration face $209 billion loss

Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos (From L to R)

When Donald Trump was sworn in because the United States President on January 20, he was surrounded by a few of the globe’s most prosperous people. The billionaires in attendance – together with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg – had been at their peak wealth, benefiting from strong inventory market efficiency.
However, after seven weeks, circumstances have shifted dramatically. The graduation of Trump’s second time period has resulted in important monetary setbacks for 5 billionaires who had been current on the Capitol Rotunda, with their mixed wealth declining by $209 billion, as reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The interval between Trump’s election and inauguration proved worthwhile for the world’s wealthiest people, with the S&P 500 Index reaching quite a few file highs. Investors had been drawn to fairness and crypto markets, anticipating business-friendly insurance policies underneath Trump.

S&P 500 benchmark index

Musk’s Tesla Inc. skilled a 98% improve post-election, reaching a file excessive. Arnault’s LVMH rose 7% within the week previous Inauguration Day, growing the French businessman’s wealth by $12 billion. Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms Inc., regardless of banning Trump in 2021, gained 9% earlier than the brand new time period and a further 20% throughout his first 4 weeks in workplace.

who owns inventory market wealth

However, expectations of continued market progress underneath Trump’s new time period have been disrupted. The S&P 500 has decreased by 6.4% since his inauguration, with authorities worker redundancies and uncertainty concerning tariffs affecting equities, main to a 2.7% decline on Monday.

Post-Inauguration wealth wipeout

The companies related to the inauguration attendees have skilled substantial losses, with their mixed market worth dropping by $1.39 trillion since January 17, the ultimate buying and selling day earlier than the inauguration. Here’s an examination of those fortunes:
Elon Musk (down $148 billion)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, 53, noticed his web value attain a file $486 billion on Dec. 17, the very best ever recorded on Bloomberg’s wealth index. His wealth surge was largely pushed by Tesla’s inventory, which almost doubled post-election. However, Tesla has since misplaced all these positive factors, with European customers turning away due to Musk’s political affiliations. In Germany, Tesla gross sales plunged over 70% in early 2024, whereas Chinese shipments fell 49% final month—the bottom since July 2022.
Jeff Bezos (down $29 billion)
Bezos, 61, who earlier clashed with Trump over the postal service and his possession of the Washington Post through the president’s first time period, congratulated Trump the day after the election on Musk’s X. Not solely this, Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund in December, and Bezos dined with the president final month, the identical day that Bezos introduced that his newspaper will prioritize private liberties and free markets in its opinion part. Amazon shares have fallen 14% since Jan. 17.
Sergey Brin (down $22 billion)
Brin, aged 51, a co-founder of the unique Google alongside Larry Page, maintains a 6% possession stake. He participated in demonstrations at San Francisco airport in 2017, opposing the Trump administration’s immigration measures. Following Trump’s re-election in November, Brin attended a dinner with him at Mar-a-Lago within the subsequent month. In early February, Alphabet Inc. skilled a major share value decline of over 7% after failing to meet quarterly income projections. Recently, Alphabet’s representatives, while going through strain from the Justice Department concerning the potential break-up of its search engine operations, engaged in discussions with authorities officers, requesting a extra reasonable method.
Mark Zuckerberg (down $5 billion)
Meta emerged as the highest performer among the many Magnificent Seven know-how corporations in early 2024. Whilst these influential corporations, which have pushed substantial positive factors within the S&P 500 index over latest years, confirmed stagnant efficiency, Meta achieved a 19% improve between mid-January and mid-February. However, the corporate subsequently relinquished these advances. The Magnificent Seven index has skilled a 20% decline from its peak in mid-December.
Bernard Arnault (down $5 billion)
Arnault, aged 76, whose household controls the luxurious group that owns prestigious manufacturers resembling Louis Vuitton and Bulgari, has maintained a long-standing friendship with Trump spanning many years. He conversed with the then-candidate the day following the Pennsylvania assassination try in July. LVMH shares, after displaying a downward development via most of 2024, skilled a major rise of over 20% from the election interval till late January. However, the corporate has subsequently misplaced the vast majority of these positive factors. According to Morningstar analysts’ assertion final month, a possible tariff starting from 10% to 20% on European luxurious items might adversely have an effect on gross sales, that are already experiencing difficulties.