What Elon Musk lost in the last 13 months is a record, literally.
The billionaire is now the person with the greatest loss of wealth History Staff, according to the site of those responsible for the Book Guinness of the Records.
From November 2021 to December 2022, the South African-American saw his fortune shrink by almost $165 billion.
The figures are based on data from Forbes magazine, but Guinness said other sources suggest Musk’s losses could have been greater.
It came after the value of shares of Tesla, Musk’s electric car company, fell after the entrepreneur bought Twitter last year.
Its $44 billion acquisition of the social network has sparked concern among Tesla investors, who consider that Musk no longer pays enough attention to that company.
Before Musk, the record for the greatest loss of personal fortune was held by the Japanese Masayoshi Son. The technology investor saw a $58.6 billion reduction in 2000.
Remaining investments
Musk’s losses are based on the value of his shares, which could regain their value this year. If so, the entrepreneur would recover part of his wealth.
In December, Musk lost his position as the person with the world’s greatest personal fortune to Bernard Arnault, CEO of the French luxury goods company LVMH, owner of the Louis Vuitton fashion brand.
The 51-year-old owns about $178 billion, according to Forbes, while Arnault’s fortune is worth an estimated $188 billion.
Musk’s most recent investments, such as the purchase of Twitter, have shaken up his other businesses.
The value ofTesla shares fell about 65% in 2022, in part due to the poor performance of the automaker’s business. The company was only able to deliver 1.3 million vehicles in the year, below Wall Street investors’ expectations.
However, Musk’s purchase of Twitter is behind most of Tesla’s stock decline.
Many investors in the electric car firm believe Musk should focus on that business as he faces falling demand amid recession fears, increased competition and production challenges related to the pandemic.
