Umair
The richest people on the planet lost more than a combined $200bn in a single day on Thursday, after stock markets cratered in response to tariffs slapped on imports to the US by Donald Trump.
Just over a month ago, a gradual downturn in the stock market meant that 10 tech-focused American billionaires had lost a similar value across the course of 2025 – but this time, a far sharper shock wiped out that amount in one trading session.
Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index (BBI) tracks the fortunes and combined wealth of those whose assets tally at least a ten-figure sum, with the richest 13 on that list currently worth a minimum of $100bn (£77bn) each.
Thursday’s dive in global stock markets, however, took a fair amount of shine off many on the list though, with their combined wealth dropping by a full $208bn (£160bn) by the end of the day, with an average decline of more than three per cent apiece, Bloomberg said.
Topping the list was Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook – now Meta – after shares in the social media company lost nine per cent on Thursday. That equated to a drop of $17.9bn (£13.8bn) in his wealth, though he remains in third place on the BBI overall with a still-astronomical $189bn (£145bn) net worth.
With Amazon and Tesla suffering similarly large drops, their respective owners Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk both saw double-figure billions disappear, with $15.9bn and $11bn respectively. Musk’s wealth has now dropped by $110bn in 2025, Bloomberg noted.
It wasn’t just American-listed companies which dropped in value, however, so the wealth evaporation was very much a worldwide event.
German Toby Lutke, Frenchman Bernard Arnault and Taiwanese businessman Zhang Congyuan were all listed for notable falls in wealth, with their corporations – Shopify, LVMH and Huali Industrial respectively – suffering in the stock market plunge. The biggest-affected of that trio was Arnault, losing $6bn of his fortune.
Within the 10 richest people on the planet, the person who lost the least on Thursday was Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who was down $291m on the day. Nobody else in the top 10 lost less than $2bn.
Further down the list, Carlos Slim – 18th in the BBI with an $85bn fortune – was the first person noted as increasing his net wealth on Thursday.
Mexico’s richest man benefited from his nation being exempt from additional tariffs and a rebalancing in the currency markets as the dollar weakened.
With stocks down again on Friday as investors and businesses further digest the tariffs and possible responses, further losses can be expected for the world’s most wealthy.
