Elon Musk loses almost half his fortune in six weeks

In the span of six weeks, Elon Musk has lost nearly half his fortune. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his fortune fell from a peak of about $1,330 billion in mid-June to about $684 billion by the end of July. Despite this setback, he remains by far the richest person in the world. In fact, his fortune is still greater than that of the second- and third-richest people combined.

The dramatic drop follows SpaceX’s initial public offering (IPO ), which had temporarily made Musk the world’s first trillionaire in June. After its initial public offering on June 12, SpaceX stock reached a record high of $225.64 on June 16, before plummeting sharply. By late July, the stock was trading between $108 and $113—more than 40 to 50 percent below its peak and, in some cases, below the IPO price of $135. With a stake of about 40 to 42% in SpaceX, fluctuations in the stock price have a significant impact on Musk’s net worth.

A combination of several setbacks

Analysts point to a combination of various factors: a few disappointing launches (such as the cancellation of a Starship test on July 16), a broader reassessment of AI-related valuations, and profit-taking following the euphoria sparked by the IPO. Tesla also contributed to the pressure after reporting quarterly results that fell short of expectations. According to market platforms, short sellers reaped billions in profits from this decline.

Still the richest man on earth

Larry Page (Google) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) together hold a fortune of just under $600 billion, which remains significantly lower than the $684 billion Musk still possesses. This loss of more than $600 billion in the space of about a month exceeds the total wealth of virtually every other billionaire on the Bloomberg ranking, with the exception of Musk himself.