The second Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump was an elaborate affair with many of the world’s wealthiest people in attendance. Some of the most exclusive seats at the event were reserved for tech billionaires — in a rather drastic shift from tradition — and CEOs were seen mingling with members of the Trump cabinet. Matters have become significantly less cozy in the ensuing days — with four of the world’s wealthiest losing $194 billion during his first 100 days in office.
According to data compiled using the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the three richest people in the world have collectively lost $172 billion during the past 100 days. Tesla CEO and close Trump ally Elon Musk leads the list with a whopping $114 billion loss since he joined the administration in an advisory capacity. Four of the world’s richest tech billionaires who attended the inauguration or donated towards it — Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jensen Huang — have lost a collective $193.6 billion since January 20.
Musk has seen his popularity as well as company shares take a hit in recent weeks as he led the controversial Department of Government Efficiency under Trump. Tesla stock prices dropped nearly 25% this year amid a wave of protests and boycotts — including some cases where its cars were set on fire. The world’s richest man (despite the loss) has since indicated plans to step back from his government cost cutting efforts in the coming days. Meanwhile Tesla found itself denying reports on Thursday suggesting that it was looking to replace Musk as CEO.
Meanwhile Amazon founder Jeff Bezos saw his net worth take a $36 billion hit during the past three months. The company remains at risk of being negatively impacted by the ongoing trade war and many sellers have also begun raising prices on certain goods. Ties between Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos have also become somewhat strained in recent weeks — especially after Amazon said it was planning to display the additional cost of tariffs next to the total price of products on its site. While House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had dubbed it a “hostile and political act” and the e-commerce giant eventually dropped the idea following a phone call between Bezos and Trump.