Billionaires Lose $1.4-Trillion In 1st Half Of 2022

Elon Musk's fortune has plummeted by about $62 billion. Jeff Bezos' fortune dropped by approximately $63 billion. Mark Zuckerberg's fortune has been reduced by more than half.

Photo Insert: France's richest individual, Bernard Arnault, ranks third with a fortune of $128.7 billion.

Overall, the world's 500 wealthiest people lost $1.4 trillion in the first half of 2022, a dizzying plunge that represents the steepest six-month dip in the global billionaire class's history, Josephine Walker reported for Bloomberg News.

It's a stark contrast to the preceding two years, when governments and central banks deployed enormous stimulus measures in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, boosting the value of everything from internet businesses to cryptocurrency.

With policymakers hiking interest rates to combat rising inflation, some of the most high-flying stocks — and the billionaires who hold them — are rapidly losing altitude. In the three months through June, Tesla Inc. had its worst quarter ever, while Amazon.com Inc. fell by the most since the dot-com bubble burst.

Though the losses for the world's wealthiest people are mounting, it is only a minor step toward lowering wealth inequality.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk, Tesla's co-founder, still has the world's largest wealth, at $208.5 billion, while Amazon's Bezos is second, with $129.6 billion.

According to the Bloomberg ranking, France's richest individual, Bernard Arnault, ranks third with a fortune of $128.7 billion, followed by Bill Gates with $114.8 billion. They are the only four individuals with a net worth of more than $100 billion.

At the start of 2022, ten persons worldwide had more than that amount, including Zuckerberg, who is now 17th on the list with $60 billion.

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