Elon Musk has set a new world record for the largest personal fortune loss in history.
Guinness World Records said in a blog on its website that he lost around $165 billion between November 2021 and December 2022.
The figures are based on data from the publisher Forbes, but Guinness believes Mr Musk’s losses could have been higher.
It follows a drop in the value of Mr Musk’s electric car company Tesla after he purchased Twitter last year.
Investors are concerned that Mr. Musk is no longer giving Tesla enough attention following his $44 billion (£36 billion) acquisition of the social media company.
Mr Musk’s losses since November 2021 surpass the previous record of $58.6 billion (£47 billion), suffered by Japanese tech investor Masayoshi Son in 2000.
The estimated loss is based on the value of his shares, which could regain their value, meaning Mr Musk’s wealth would increase again.
In December, the Tesla boss lost his position as the richest person in the world to Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of French luxury goods company LVMH, which owns fashion label Louis Vuitton.
The value of Tesla shares dropped around 65% in 2022, in part because of Tesla’s performance. The firm delivered just 1.3 million vehicles during the year, falling short of Wall Street expectations.
However, Mr Musk’s takeover of Twitter – where he has sparked controversy by firing large numbers of staff and changing content moderation policies – is behind most of the share slump.
Many Tesla investors believe he should be focusing on the electric vehicle company as it faces falling demand amid recession fears, rising competition, and COVID-linked production challenges.
“Long-term fundamentals [at Tesla] are extremely strong. Short-term market madness is unpredictable,” Mr Musk tweeted after the stock markets closed for the year in December 2022.
According to Forbes, Mr. Musk is now worth approximately $178 billion (£152 billion), while Bernard Arnault is estimated to be worth $188 billion (£155 billion).
Source: BBC.com