Elon Musk's fortune shrank by $80 billion in a single day and fell below the $800 billion mark, reports Forbes. The cause was a sharp fall in Tesla and SpaceX shares amid a large-scale sell-off of technology stocks following the midterm elections in the US.
According to the publication's estimate, on Thursday, 5 November, alone the billionaire's fortune decreased by more than 9%. Tesla shares fell by 11.5%, reaching their lowest level since August, while SpaceX shares dropped by 8% to around $125 per share. Musk nevertheless kept first place on the list of the world's richest people.
The fall in share prices continued a difficult week for the entrepreneur: according to estimates by other publications, his losses over the week reached approximately $90 billion.
Investor sentiment was affected by the results of the midterm elections in the US. The Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which could lead to greater congressional scrutiny of the largest technology companies. Investors also fear tighter regulation of artificial intelligence and of the construction of data centres.
Musk actively supported Republican Party candidates, but many of them were defeated. The political changes may now complicate the implementation of major projects by his companies, particularly in Texas, where artificial intelligence infrastructure and semiconductor production are being developed.
Forbes notes that the decline also affected other major entrepreneurs. The fortune of Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell shrank by $18.6 billion in a day, that of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison by $11.3 billion, and that of Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg by $9.4 billion.
