*This is being reposted from March 14 2025*
Five of the wealthiest men in the world supported Donald Trump during his inauguration in January, but they have since lost billions of dollars.
On January 20, a significant day in US politics, Trump inaugurated his second term in office and set out to enact a number of executive orders, including the contentious two-genders order, a ban on LGBTQ+ pride flags, and hefty tariffs imposed globally.
But for the five billionaires who were gathered around him, it was also a significant day.
These individuals included Sergey Brin, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bernard Arnault, and Elon Musk.
The Tesla mogul, who was notably involved during Trump’s campaign for president, is still serving the White House today by holding a significant position at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
However, the reason behind the presence of the other extremely affluent guys was unknown.
As it turns out, their presence initially paid off handsomely, as all five members benefited from the rise in the stock market and its associated financial gain.
Weeks later, though, it declined and left them in a worse position than they were prior to the inauguration.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the group’s total worth dropped by $209 billion just seven weeks after Trump’s second term began.
The S&P 500 index has fallen by about 7% since Trump took office, according to the website.
The S&P 500 index hit multiple all-time highs in the weeks between Trump’s election and inauguration, according to Bloomberg, as investors flocked to the stock and cryptocurrency markets.
This is due to their expectation that Trump’s initiatives will improve the markets overall.
Musk’s Tesla Inc. rose 98 percent, Arnault’s LVMH rose 7 percent, and Zuckerberg’s Meta rose 29 percent as a result.
But that was short-lived.
Soon after, the market value of the billionaires’ companies fell by a total of $1.43 trillion.
Elon Musk’s loss
Musk’s political allegiance is thought to be the reason behind the more than 70% decline in Tesla sales in Germany following Trump’s election, which has left him $145 billion worse off.
Jeff Bezos’s loss
Bezos lost $31 billion as Amazon’s sales dropped 15%, despite the fact that the company had donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.
Sergey Brin’s loss
In the weeks after the company’s quarterly revenue misses, Brin, who co-founded Google (Alphabet Inc.) with Larry Page and owns 6% of the company’s shares, had his shares plummet by over 7%, costing him a total of $23 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg’s loss
The Magnificent Seven index then dropped 21 percent from its mid-December peak, costing the Facebook creator and his business Meta $8 billion.
Bernard Arnault’s loss
Finally, $5 billion was lost by Arnault.
His family, which owns the conglomerate (LVMH) that owns Bulgari and Louis Vuitton, may be familiar to you.
Trump and Arnault have been close friends for decades, but Morningstar experts verified that Trump’s decision for a 10–20% tariff on luxury products from Europe could hurt his already faltering sales.
