Tech slump and trade war shrink the fortunes of the world’s richest
Elon Musk is the most affected among the billionaires, who have seen hundreds of billions of wealth vanish in recent weeks due to stock market declines
An old stock market adage says that the market takes the stairs up and the elevator down, a cautionary reminder of how quickly profits that have taken months or years to build up can sometimes evaporate. 2025 reflects this dynamic: the world’s biggest fortunes have witnessed how the initial euphoria over Donald Trump’s victory — celebrated by the elite at his inauguration — has been followed by an even sharper retreat on Wall Street.
