The substantial financial loss that many of the world’s billionaires are facing, estimated to be nearly $500 billion in just two days, has drawn considerable attention.
As per Forbes data from the previous year, the cumulative wealth of the top 12 billionaires saw a significant increase, indicating a trend of the wealthy becoming wealthier.
The discussion about the billionaires’ list and their amassed wealth became a hot topic on Reddit, with many expressing astonishment at the total value of $2 trillion.
Even though individuals like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are still immensely wealthy, their net worth has declined since Donald Trump assumed the presidency in January.
Within a mere seven weeks of Trump’s second term, prominent figures such as Musk, Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault, and Sergey Brin saw their collective wealth decrease by $209 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The publication attributed this decline to the S&P 500 index falling by almost seven percent since Trump’s return to the presidency.
Subsequently, President Trump declared a 10 percent ‘baseline’ tax to be implemented globally, with increased rates for a specific list of 60 countries, which he termed ‘worst offenders’ during a White House Rose Garden announcement on Wednesday (April 2), referring to it as ‘Liberation Day’ for the nation.
Bloomberg reported that in the interval between Trump’s election and inauguration, the S&P 500 index achieved multiple record highs as investors rushed into stock and cryptocurrency markets.
Currently, the top 500 wealthiest individuals have experienced an unprecedented two-day financial loss on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index due to the policies enacted by President Trump.
From the start of the stock market on Thursday (April 3) to its close on Friday (April 4), billionaires on the wealth list collectively lost $536 billion as the S&P 500 Index suffered a significant drop in less than two days.
Numerous voices have criticized Trump’s tariffs recently, including former president Barack Obama.
During a speech at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, on Thursday (April 3), Obama expressed: “Look, I don’t think what we just witnessed in terms of economic policy and tariffs is going to be good for America, but that’s a specific policy.”
“I’m more deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don’t give up students who are exercising their right to free speech.”
“I am more troubled by the idea that a White House can say to law firms, ‘If you represent parties that we don’t like, we’re going to pull all our business or bar you from representing people effectively.'”
“That kind of behavior is contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans.”