Tech Billionaires' Finances Take a Hit Under Trump's First 100 Days, with Musk and Bezos Among the Hardest Hit
Tech biz big shots flocked to Trump's second-term inauguration, spilling millions for the festivities. But those flashy moves might've cost 'em dearly.
Here's a breakdown of the four wealthiest tech titans who've taken a significant hit to their net worth since the inauguration day.
Elon Musk
This man didn't miss a beat and remained Trump's trusty sidekick as an advisor. However, his wallet felt the sting badly. Musk lost a whopping $114 billion (roughly €100 billion) from his initial fortune of $449 billion (around €395 billion). Tesla, Musk' electric car empire, suffered a stock price slide of nearly 25%, causing trouble for the business magnate. After a lackluster quarterly report last week, Musk announced he'd be distancing himself from the White House, focusing only a few days weekly on government affairs – a surprisingly swift shift.
Jeff Bezos
Known for dominating the retail market with Amazon, Bezos' wealth nosedived by $36 billion (nearly €31.6 billion), leaving him with a net worth of around $209 billion (approximately €183 billion). The reason behind this drop? The ongoing trade conflict fueled by Trump's tariffs has hit Amazon particularly hard, considering the vast number of products it imports from China. Although Amazon downplayed the situation, some sellers increased their prices on essential items like appliances, snacks, and electronics, ruling out a minuscule effect on the overall sales.
Mark Zuckerberg
Zuckerberg' relationship with Trump might've been icy since the election, but things got chillier still. His wealth plummeted by $22 billion (nearly €19 billion), standing at $195 billion (around €171.5 billion) currently. Meta, which accounts for the majority of Zuckerberg' riches, hit a snag with an antitrust lawsuit initiated by the government. To top it off, Zuckerberg had to defend his actions in court for three days when the case was put into motion.
Jensen Huang
Although Huang declined to attend the inauguration, he made an equally controversial move – donating a cool $1 million to the inaugural fund. His net worth dropped by $21.6 billion (approximately €18.9 billion), leaving him with a fortune of $95.4 billion (around €83.9 billion). Analysts blame Nvidia's stock plunge of over 21% so far this year on Trump's tariffs, the company's reliance on foreign chip manufacturing, and restrictions placed on chip exports to China. The tech giant recently forecasted a $5.5 billion (around €4.8 billion) drop in profit for the first quarter.
When we dig deeper, it seems other leading tech companies weren't immune to this market turmoil either. Tim Cook of Apple and Sundar Pichai from Google both saw their companies' stocks dip – Apple's by nearly 14%, and Alphabet, Google's parent company, by nearly 15% compared to the previous year.
It's safe to say that these tech tycoons are counting the costs of aligning with Trump, paying dearly for their decisions as the global market remains unpredictable and volatile.
What's the impact on finance for Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jensen Huang in the wake of their associations with Trump's second-term inauguration? Elon Musk lost a significant $114 billion from his initial $449 billion net worth, Jeff Bezos saw a $36 billion drop, Mark Zuckerberg's wealth decreased by $22 billion, and Jensen Huang's net worth fell by $21.6 billion. The general-news of global market instability and specific events such as trade conflicts and antitrust lawsuits appear to have negatively affected their business ventures and technology companies, including Tesla, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, Apple, and Alphabet. Politics and technology continue to intertwine, raising questions about the potential long-term consequences for these business leaders and the industry as a whole.
