As President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs announcement sent shockwaves across Wall Street, the world’s richest people lost billions of dollars in net worth almost overnight.
On Wednesday, Trump announced a baseline 10% tariff for imported goods from all countries set to take effect on April 5, and “individualized” tariffs as high as 50% on a series of specific countries and regions. The announcement sparked a stock market meltdown: The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each fell by more than 5% on Friday, following similar losses on Thursday.
Collectively, the two-day drop wiped out $30.9 billion in net worth for Elon Musk, $23.49 billion for Jeff Bezos and $27.34 billion for Mark Zuckerberg — the world’s three richest people, in that order — according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. The world’s 500 richest people experienced the biggest two-day loss ever recorded by the index, according to Bloomberg.
Much of the top trio’s net worth comes from the value of their respective companies: Tesla, Amazon and Meta. The newly announced tariffs are hitting tech stocks particularly hard, due to the industry’s reliance on manufacturing, computer chips and IT services from countries like China, India and Taiwan.
Trump’s announcement included a 32% tariff rate on Taiwan, a 26% rate on India and an increase on China that brings its total rate to 54% on imported goods. A decrease in American economic growth could also damage advertising revenue for Amazon and Meta, CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer noted on Thursday.
Musk, who works closely with Trump as a senior advisor and de facto head of the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was already experiencing losses to his net worth in 2025. Tesla announced sales of 336,681 cars in this year’s first quarter on Wednesday, a 13% drop compared to last year, marking its worst quarter since 2022.
In total, Musk’s fortune has taken a hit of $130 billion so far this year, the Bloomberg index says. His current estimated net worth of $302 billion remains well ahead of that of Bezos, at $193 billion, and Zuckerberg at $179 billion.
Not all billionaires lost money on Thursday and Friday’s rout. Rocket Mortgage co-founder and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert gained $1.91 billion on Friday, giving him a net worth of $32.4 billion, according to Bloomberg’s index. Mexican businessman Carlos Slim got $2.9 billion richer on Thursday — before losing $5.48 billion on Friday, the index says.
Slim, 85, who was named the world’s richest person by Forbes from 2010 to 2013, got his start as a stock trader in Mexico in the 1960s. His estimated net worth of $80 billion comes primarily from holdings in his longtime industrial conglomerate Grupo Carso and Latin American telecom firm América Móvil, according to Forbes.
Slim predicted that the Trump administration’s tariffs will be temporary, and primarily used as a negotiation tactic, he told Bloomberg in an interview that published on Tuesday. On Thursday, Trump said he’d be open to negotiating tariff rates with other countries, despite White House aides insisting the opposite.
“The U.S. doesn’t have any other alternative rather than changing how it does things,” Slim said.
Do you want a new career that’s higher-paying, more flexible or fulfilling? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Change Careers and Be Happier at Work. Expert instructors will teach you strategies to network successfully, revamp your resume and confidently transition into your dream career. Pre-register today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $67 (+taxes and fees) through May 13, 2025.
Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.
Credit: Source link
