Elon Musk has just set another record in history. According to a Guinness World Records report, the billionaire has broken the world record for the largest loss of personal fortune.
Since November 2021, the tech billionaire has lost approximately $182 billion. But according to The Guardian, other sources suggest that the billionaire's loss could actually be closer to $200 billion.
Elon Musk Loss in Net Worth Attributed to Poor Performance of Tesla's Stock
According to a report by Forbes, Musk's net worth dropped from $320 billion in 2021 to a $46.4 billion low in January 2023. The loss is attributed to the poor performance of Tesla's stock.
Tesla's stocks rapidly crashed by 65% last year, according to the Guinness World Records report.
The tech billionaire sold nearly $7 billion of his Tesla shares ahead of acquiring Twitter. This is because the demand for Musk's Tesla conglomerate has abruptly lessened since competition largely stemming from electric vehicles became popular last year.
The evidence of Tesla's shrinking popularity became apparent last month when the automaker company said it would be holding a rare sale. The sale was done in an effort to clear out its inventory.
Buyers who would purchase and take delivery of a vehicle before the end of 2022 were offered two rebates.
They were initially offered a $3,750 discount. In the final two weeks of the year, they were offered a doubled rebate of $7,500.
The Guardian reported that the growing worries about weakening demand and logistical problems have impacted the deliveries for the automaker.
In a news release, the Guinness World Records said that the exact amount of fortune that Musk lost is "impossible to ascertain."
But according to Guinness, they can confirm that the tech billionaire has already surpassed the previous record of a $58.6 billion loss.
The "largest loss of personal fortune in history" previously belonged to Japanese tech investor Masayoshi Son. He lost his personal wealth because of poor investments in the dotcom surge.
Read Also: Elon Musk Tesla Solar Panel-Powerwall Bundle Update: New Powerwall+ Specs, Design Leaked!
Elon Musk Now Ranks Second Richest Person in the World
Musk now ranks as the second richest person in the world ahead of India's Gautam Adani whose net worth is recorded at $125.1 billion.
Tesla's CEO lost his position as the richest person in the world to Bernard Arnault in December last year.
Arnault is the chief executive of French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, the company that owns the fashion label Louis Vuitton. Based on Forbes estimates, Arnault's net worth is $203.7 billion.
Majority of Telas's CEO's fortune is tied up in the automaker's stock. In 2022, the automaker's value plummeted, the Guinness World Records report said.
Based on a report from Gizmodo, the decline of Tesla's CEO's net worth accelerated in October after he bought the social media platform Twitter for $44 billion.
But Musk is not the only billionaire whose fortune plummeted in 2022. According to CNBC, American billionaires collectively lost $660 billion last year.
For instance, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos lost $80 billion. If not for Musk, he would have had the "largest loss" title.
In addition, fellow tech CEO Mark Zuckerberg also broke Masayoshi Son's record. Zuckerberg recorded a $78 billion loss in 2022.
Related Article: Elon Musk: Tesla Robot Prototype Likely Ready This September - AI Day Delayed?
