Elon Musk's unpleasant year ends with him becoming the first person to lose $200bn. Tesla lost 70% of its value in 2022, and he sank $44bn of his and others' money into buying Twitter, where his ruinous performance as CEO led to a general reevaluation of his "visionary" reputation.
Musk, 51, has seen his wealth plummet to $137 billion after Tesla shares tumbled in recent weeks, including an 11% drop on Tuesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune peaked at $340 billion on Nov. 4, 2021, and he remained the world's richest person until he was overtaken this month by Bernard Arnault, the French tycoon behind luxury-goods powerhouse LVMH.
Still, there's hope for the Musk Mars Base! SpaceX is unlisted, but shares have increased in value—largely on the assumption that it will soon sell many more to raise money. Musk's cosying up to Vladimir Putin and his cronies isn't a good sign, though, given that its putative future is as a U.S. defense and NASA contractor.
