Trump’s Tariff Assault Shakes Global Markets, Wipes Billions from World’s Richest

KATHMANDU, APRIL 5: U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff move has sent shockwaves through global markets, dealing a heavy blow to hundreds of billionaires and investors worldwide. His recent announcement to raise tariffs on several goods has triggered a sharp global market downturn.

As a result, the world’s 500 wealthiest individuals collectively lost billions of dollars in a single day. The top 20 richest people were hit especially hard, experiencing significant drops in their net worth. Whether it’s Trump’s close associate Elon Musk or the world’s second-richest man Jeff Bezos—none were spared by the impact of the tariff escalation.

According to Bloomberg, which tracks the wealth of global billionaires through its Billionaires Index, this marks the fourth-largest collective loss among top billionaires in the past 13 years. The last comparable hit came during the COVID-19 pandemic. On average, each of the wealthiest individuals lost about 3.3% of their net worth in this recent blow.

Who lost how much?

Billionaires across the board have seen sharp declines in their wealth. From Elon Musk to Bill Gates and Mukesh Ambani, all recorded drops in their net worth.

Elon Musk, considered a close ally of Trump, took the biggest hit, followed by Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison. Musk’s fortune reportedly dropped by more than $10 billion in just 24 hours—marking the second consecutive day of major losses.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg suffered the single biggest loss, with his wealth plunging by $9.44 billion. Meta's stock, which had seen significant gains earlier, has fallen by 28% since mid-February.

Amazon shares dropped by 9%, the sharpest decline since April 2022, resulting in a $7.59 billion drop in Jeff Bezos’s net worth. Musk, who also leads Tesla, saw an even steeper fall, losing $19.9 billion in total.

Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury group LVMH, lost $6 billion, largely due to a proposed 20% tax by the European Union. Similarly, Zhang Congyuan, founder of China’s Huali Industrial Group, faced a $1.2 billion loss after Trump imposed a 34% tariff on Chinese imports.

In India, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani also took a hit, losing nearly $3 billion from his total wealth in just 24 hours.