In one of the steepest declines in global wealth, the world’s richest 500 billionaires lost a whopping $208 billion combined after U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2. The announcement, termed the “Liberation Day” announcement, sent markets into sharp turmoil, Bloomberg reported.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index had its fourth-largest one-day decline ever — and the worst since the height of the COVID-19 market meltdown. Of particular note, the largest losses were among U.S. billionaires.
Zuckerberg, Bezos, Musk Lead Wealth Slide
Among the worst affected was Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose personal fortune fell by $17.9 billion — the biggest one-day drop on the list. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos came in second, losing $15.9 billion after Amazon shares plummeted 9%, their biggest drop since April 2022.
Elon Musk, also a close Trump adviser, lost $11 billion in individual wealth when Tesla shares dipped 5.5%.
Other top U.S. billionaires also saw sharp declines:
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Michael Dell lost $9.53 billion
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Oracle’s Larry Ellison dropped $8.1 billion
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Nvidia’s Jensen Huang fell by $7.36 billion
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Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin lost $4.79 billion and $4.46 billion, respectively
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Thomas Peterffy shed $4.06 billion
Global Billionaires Also Affected
The economic shocks went beyond the U.S. Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Congyuan, chairman of Huali Industrial Group, lost $1.2 billion — approximately 13% of his net assets. Bernard Arnault, chairman of French luxury behemoth LVMH, sustained a $6 billion blow to his wealth. Shopify’s CEO Tobi Lutke witnessed an 17% drop in riches, amounting to a $1.5 billion loss.
Tariff Move Jolts Global Markets
On April 2, President Trump unveiled new import tariffs of at least 10% on the majority of goods entering the U.S. The rates would be even higher for 60 countries or economic blocs with huge trade deficits with the U.S. The protectionist move sent shockwaves through world financial markets, cutting stock values and billionaire wealth in its wake.
