Trump Tariffs Erase $208 Billion from Billionaire Fortunes in Single Day

WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs have triggered a historic blow to the world’s richest individuals, with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index reporting a staggering $208 billion loss in collective wealth on Thursday — the fourth-largest single-day drop in the index’s 13-year history.

More than 250 of the top 500 billionaires tracked by Bloomberg saw their fortunes decline, with U.S.-based tech magnates experiencing the sharpest losses as Wall Street reacted to the administration’s announcement of global import levies. The average drop in net worth across the index stood at 3.3%, with several household names in the tech and retail sectors leading the decline.

Biggest Losers: Tech Titans Take the Hit

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., suffered the largest loss in absolute terms, watching $17.9 billion — nearly 9% of his wealth — vanish as Meta shares plunged by 9%. Once the star performer among the Magnificent Seven tech stocks earlier this year, Meta has now lost 28% of its value since mid-February.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com Inc., saw his personal fortune shrink by $15.9 billion after Amazon shares endured their worst single-day drop since April 2022, falling 9%. The e-commerce giant is now down over 25% from its February peak.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and recently appointed "efficiency czar" in the Trump administration, lost $11 billion in just one day. Tesla shares, initially seen as resilient due to their domestic production base, fell 5.5% as investors grew wary of Musk’s divided focus and the broader industry fallout.

Beyond Silicon Valley: Global Shockwaves

The impact wasn’t confined to the U.S. Tech executives and retail moguls across Europe and Asia were similarly caught in the tariff storm.

In Canada, Shopify’s CEO Tobi Lütke lost $1.5 billion, a 17% drop in his net worth, after Shopify shares plunged 20% on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Much of the platform’s revenue is tied to imported goods — making it especially vulnerable to the new trade barriers.

French luxury mogul Bernard Arnault, head of LVMH, saw $6 billion wiped from his fortune. The European Union is now bracing for a 20% flat tariff on exports to the U.S., a move expected to impact high-end goods like wine, cosmetics, and fashion.

In China, Zhang Congyuan, founder of shoemaker Huali Industrial Group Co., lost $1.2 billion, a 13% drop, after a fresh 34% tariff targeting Chinese goods sent the company’s stock into a tailspin.

Outliers: Mexico and the Middle East Buck the Trend

One notable exception to the global decline was Carlos Slim, Mexico’s richest man, whose fortune rose by 4% to $85.5 billion after Mexico was exempted from the White House’s tariff list. The Mexican Bolsa Index edged up 0.5%, lifting Slim’s holdings.

The Middle East also stood apart, with several regional billionaires recording modest gains, as select industries tied to oil and energy exports remained unaffected — at least for now — by the U.S. tariffs.

Market Fallout Continues

Thursday’s tariff shock also wiped nearly $2 trillion off the U.S. stock market. Analysts are now warning of further volatility in the coming weeks as global economies recalibrate to the new trade landscape.

President Trump, speaking aboard Air Force One, signaled he was open to negotiations, saying the U.S. could consider easing tariffs if trading partners propose a “phenomenal” deal. However, with supply chains already disrupted and market confidence shaken, the road to recovery — for both businesses and billionaires — may be long and uncertain.