Jeff Bezos faced a staggering $15 billion drop in his wealth in a single day, following a sharp decline in Amazon’s stock.
This plunge was part of a larger market downturn that saw the world’s 500 richest individuals, including Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, collectively lose $134 billion.
On Friday, Amazon.com Inc.’s shares dropped by 8.8%, pushing Bezos’ net worth down to $191.5 billion. His considerable wealth is closely tied to Amazon, so when its stock takes a hit, so does his fortune. This year, Bezos has been reducing his stake in Amazon, selling $8.5 billion worth of shares in February and planning to sell another $5 billion. Even after these sales, he still owns 912 million shares, or 8.8% of the company.
Mark Zuckerberg also felt the impact, with Meta Platforms Inc. shares falling by 1.9%, leading to a loss of over $3 billion for him. Similarly, Elon Musk saw his net worth shrink by $6.6 billion as Tesla shares plunged by 4.2%.
Friday’s $15.2 billion loss for Bezos is notable but not unprecedented. It’s the third-largest reduction in his wealth, following a $36 billion drop after his divorce in April 2019 and a 14% drop in Amazon’s shares in April 2022.
The recent dip in Amazon’s stock comes amid concerns about the company’s heavy investment in artificial intelligence (AI). While the company is pushing forward with AI, some investors worry that the recent AI-driven gains might be overhyped.
Other billionaires were also affected. Oracle’s Larry Ellison saw his fortune decrease by $4.4 billion, while tech pioneers Sergey Brin and Larry Page each lost over $3 billion.
The effects of Friday’s market decline continued into Monday, with global stock markets still reeling. Investors are jittery about a potential US recession, and Japan experienced its worst market sell-off since "Black Monday" in 1987.
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