Twitter and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has recorded the ‘largest loss of personal fortune’ according to the Guinness Book of World Records, after losing approximately $182 billion within a year.
According to Forbes, Mr Musk’s net worth dropped from a peak of $320 billion in 2021 to $138 billion as of January 2023, largely due to the poor performance of Tesla’s stock.
It noted that the majority of the US entrepreneur’s fortune is tied up in his Tesla stock and the value fell 65 per cent in 2022.
The sudden decline in the value of Tesla’s stock occurred after Mr Musk bought social media platform Twitter for around $44 billion.
“The tumultuous takeover, coupled with Musk’s polarising behaviour on the platform, sparked the biggest Tesla stock sell-off since the company went public in 2010,” a report from the Guinness World Records said.
Last year, Mr Musk sparked controversy after laying off a significant number of Twitter staff when he bought over the microblogging firm. He recently sold off about $4 billion of Tesla stock, while raising funds to complete the $44 billion deal on Twitter acquisition.
In December, Forbes announced that Mr Musk is no longer the richest person in the world.
It listed Mr Musk as occupying the second position in its latest list of “Real-Time Billionaires” with a net worth of $183.6 billion.
The controversial entrepreneur comes after CEO of French luxury brand LVMH, maker of Louis Vuitton luxury goods and Hennessy cognac, Bernard Arnault, whose net worth was estimated at $186.2 billion.
Prior to his recent decline in fortunes , Mr Musk held the position as the world richest man between 2020 and 2021, after he displaced.
