01 January 2023 , 22:57
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Twitter owner Elon Musk has lost more than half of his entire multi-billion pound fortune in just over a year.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index he lost $208bn - about £172bn - in the last 13 months, mainly due to a downturn in Tesla's stock price.
It is thought to be the biggest ever financial loss of an individual's net worth and was more than half of Mr Musk's total portfolio, which peaked at $338bn in November 2021.
Electric car maker Tesla has been hit with production delays in China, vehicle recalls, and concerns among investors that Mr Musk has become distracted after buying social media company Twitter, which meant it loss around 70 per cent of its value.
Elon Musk bought Twitter this year (NTB/AFP via Getty Images)Mr Musk has now lost his spot as the world's richest man to French businessman Bernard Arnault.
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In October, Mr Musk spent around £36bn to buy social media company Twitter and soon made huge cuts to staff including many of its top executives.
He soon made sweeping changes and even proposed charging users $20 a month to pay for their blue verification tick, which did not go down well with many.
The news quickly prompted outrage and disbelief among some Twitter users, including author Stephen King, who has close to seven million followers.
Mr King tweeted “$20 a month to keep my blue check?”
“They should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.”
Mr Musk replied to the popular author “[W]e need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers.
“How about $8?”
Elon Musk is no longer the richest man in the world (AFP via Getty Images)In a recent email to staff Mr Musk said that he believed Tesla will become “the most valuable company on Earth” in the long-term.
“Don’t be too bothered by stock market craziness.
“As we demonstrate continued excellent performance, the market will recognise that.”
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Mr Musk doesn't often speak about his wealth, but in 2018 in a long Twitter thread he said: “You should ask why I would want money.
Tesla's value dropped this year (AFP via Getty Images)“About half my money is intended to help problems on Earth and half to help establish a self-sustaining city on Mars to ensure the continuation of life (or all species) in case Earth gets hit by a meteor like the dinosaurs or WW3 happens and we destroy ourselves.”
Other US billionaires have seen their wealth decline significantly over the last year too.
Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Oracle’s Larry Ellison and Google's Larry Page have lost more than $180bn combined since January.