Big losses for the biggest billionaires

The world’s richest – Musk, Bezos and Gates – have lost a combined $115 billion in the last five months.

A hole in the net

Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index makes for interesting reading. Tracking the 500 wealthiest people in the world, it’s a good indicator of how their net worth is shaping up. And well, according to the latest figures, things have been better for the big boys.

Stock markets have plummeted in the last five months, and even the richest of the rich can’t escape. According to the Index, Elon Musk’s net worth has fallen by $46.4 billion, while Jeff Bezos is down by $53.2 billion. Bill Gates meanwhile has had $15.1 billion shaved off. And we get antsy when we lose a dollar down the back of the couch. Perspective, huh?

Shares and scares

Musk, with his current net worth of $224 billion, is still comfortably the richest dude on the planet. Bezos, with a paltry $139 billion is in a not-so-close second. But for both of them, a lot of their shares are tied up in one company. Not bad ones to be tied up in, of course; Tesla and Amazon are the reason that the two top the rich list. But Gates, with a more diverse portfolio, has been able to weather the stock market freefall a little better. His foundation is mainly invested in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, and that’s seen shares rise by 5% this year. Warren knows a thing or two, alright.

Despite the chunky drops in net worth, the ballers of this world aren’t quite on the bones of their ass just yet. What goes down must come back up – and when we’re talking about the stock market, you can bet the boys will be there to rake in the dough when things inevitably pick back up.