Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg among top US billionaires who lost over $10 billion in one day

Top US billionaires, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and Meta executive Mark Zuckerberg, have lost over $10 billion on Monday.

Updated on: Jan 15, 2025, 16:40:55 IST

By Shweta Kukreti

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Top US billionaires, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and Meta executive Mark Zuckerberg, have lost over $10 billion on Monday as a result of significant shifts in Meta's stock holdings.

Top US billionaires experienced changes in their financial standing as a result of the losses, which may be a sign of market instability and a decline in trust in investors. (AP)

They all experienced changes in their financial standing as a result of the losses, which may be a sign of market instability and a decline in trust in investors.

Here's what exactly happened

On January 10, Zuckerberg sold shares worth about $8 million in Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

With a $1.54 trillion market value, Meta has returned 63 percent in the last 12 months.

Zuckerberg still owns a sizable portion of the firm, even though he carried out the transaction using a predetermined trading strategy set by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. As of now, Forbes estimates his net worth to be over $204 billion. The Meta CEO lost $5.8 billion in net value on Monday.

Meanwhile, other billionaires also experienced a decline in their net worth, primarily as a result of changes in the stock of their own companies.

While Bezos witnessed a drop of $1.4 billion, putting his net worth down 0.83 percent to about $417 billion, Musk suffered lost of $3.5 billion, lowering his net worth down $231 billion.

According to Kevin Thompson, CEO of 9i Capital Group, the main cause of these losses is the surge of interest rate.

Speaking to Newsweek, he explained the discount rate rises as well when rates climb. “This makes higher-risk assets more expensive to hold since investors can earn better returns from risk-free alternatives. As a result, the required return on equities increases, leading to lower valuations.”

Connection between TikTok and Social media firms

If the Supreme Court decides to approve the prohibition of the TikTok social media platform in the United States, there would be serious repercussions for social media firms like Meta, which would then gain a larger market share in the industry.

However, Thompson stated that tax issues were probably the deciding factor in Zuckerberg's recent Meta stock sale.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shweta Kukreti
Shweta Kukreti has over 8 years of experience in covering Indian and world politics. She joined the Hindustan Times in 2024 and is primarily assigned to the US desk. She currently works as Deputy Chief Content Producer and reports on a wide range of topics, including US politics, immigration issues (especially H-1B visa) and major global events. Shweta strongly emphasizes team operations, which encompasses monitoring news, delegating tasks, editing, developing comprehensive coverage strategies, and crafting engaging, and data-informed narratives. She received the Digi Star Award at the Hindustan Times within a year of joining for her broad coverage of US politics. In 2025, she earned both a promotion and a redesignation, a significant achievement recognising her contributions and the strong value she brings to the team. She has previously worked with the Indian Express, HTDS, ANI and Republic World. Seniors in all the media organisations recognised her work. Regarding education, she earned a BA (Hons.) in Political Science and a master's degree from Delhi University, and she pursued a PG Diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Institution of Mass Communication (IIMC). She also holds a diploma in Women's Empowerment and Development from IGNOU University and a French certification course from Alliance Française de Delhi. If not working, you can find her exploring the hills and engaging in adventurous activities in Rishikesh and Himachal Pradesh. She loves to play badminton, volleyball, and chess, and spend time with her friends and family. She also enjoys spiritual activities.Read More

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