The U.S. stock market is in doldrums, with the S&P 500 Index officially dropping into bear market territory on Friday. The brutal drubbing hasn't spared the world's richest, wiping away billions of their net worth.
Twitter Deal Takes Toll: Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) chief executive officer Elon Musk has seen his fortunes shrink considerably in the current market sell-off.
The recent down leg in Tesla stock started in earnest in early April, coinciding with Musk's revelation of a passive stake in Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR). From an intraday high of $1,152.87 on April 4, Tesla stock has pulled back steeply and is currently trading at its lowest level since Aug. 17, 2021.
Between the early April peak and now, the stock has shed over 42%, signaling that it is in deep bear market territory. In market parlance, a bear market refers to a decline of over 20% from a recent peak.
Source: TradingView
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Musk's Network Cut By One-Fourth: Since the start of the year, Musk's net worth has been reduced by one-fourth from $270 billion to $201 billion, a reduction of about 25.5%, according to Bloomberg Billionaires' Index. Incidentally, his net worth had peaked at $340 billion in early November 2021.
Tesla pulled back by about 13.7% in the recent week. The sell-off was orchestrated by a slow ramp of Tesla's Giga Shanghai plant following its reopening, Musk's Twitter deal and reports of settlement of a sexual misconduct allegation involving the Tesla CEO in 2018.
Musk's net worth fell $10.6 billion this week and currently stands at $201 billion. He, however, continues to be the world's richest man. Amazon, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos is a distant second and boasts of a net worth of $131 billion.
Incidentally, billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who ranks fifth on the list, has seen his net worth increase by $1.21 billion in the year-to-date to $110 billion.
Tesla stock closed Friday's session 6.42% lower at $663.90, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Related Link: Should Tesla Initiate A Buyback Amid Stock Slump? Here's What One Of Its Biggest Shareholders Thinks
Photo: Created with an image from Daniel Oberhaus on Flickr
