Elon Musk's net worth has plummeted $124 billion in 2022, bringing his fortune to a 2-year low

Elon Musk
Elon Musk sent Twitter staff a memo on Thursday confirming job cuts would be announced on Friday.
  • Elon Musk's net worth has crashed $124 billion so far this year, per estimates by Bloomberg.
  • Falling Tesla shares have put his fortune at $148 billion, its lowest level since December 2020.
  • Musk's wealth peaked at $340 billion last year. Bernard Arnault has now taken his place as the world's richest person.

Elon Musk's net worth has crashed $124 billion so far this year, reaching its lowest level since 2020, according to estimates by Bloomberg.

The tech mogul is now worth around $148 billion, per the publication's Billionaires Index. He is still the world's second-richest person, a position he has held since last week when LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault pushed him off the top spot.

Musk's fortune fell nearly $8 billion on Tuesday after Tesla shares plummeted. Shares are down around 61% since January, and have fallen 12% in the last week alone.

Musk, who is the EV maker's CEO, has blamed this on rising interest rates, which he says have incentivized traders to sell off their shares as cash becomes more attractive. Some analysts and shareholders, however, have argued that buying Twitter has distracted Musk from focusing on Tesla.

Musk's fortune has shrunk drastically this year

Musk's net worth hasn't been so low since December 2020, per Bloomberg's estimates.

His net worth began a rapid ascent at the start of the pandemic, peaking at $340 billion in November 2021. His estimated fortune fell to $270 billion on January 1, and since then it has fluctuated, but has overall been on a downward trajectory.

Musk's wealth is largely dependent on Tesla shares. Though he takes no salary from Tesla, he's awarded stock options when the company hits challenging performance metrics.

Musk is also the CEO of SpaceX and founded or co-founded The Boring Company, Neuralink, and X.com, which later became PayPal. In October, he bought Twitter for $44 billion and became its CEO, though he has now said he plans to stand down from the role.

Prior to his announcement, some Tesla shareholders had expressed concerns about how much time Musk is spending at Twitter, including KoGuan Leo, Tesla's third largest individual shareholder, who called for Musk to stand down from his role at the EV maker.

"Elon abandoned Tesla and Tesla has no working CEO," Leo tweeted.

Read the original article on Business Insider


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