Elon Musk’s net worth has fallen below the $1 trillion mark for the second time in a month after a sharp decline in Tesla and SpaceX shares wiped $36.4 billion off his estimated fortune in a single trading session, according to Forbes data.
Musk’s wealth dropped to $991.6 billion on Thursday, October 8, just three days after he regained his trillionaire status. The latest decline highlights the volatility in the fortunes of the world’s wealthiest individuals amid a sell-off in technology and artificial intelligence-linked stocks.
SpaceX shares fell around 3.5 per cent amid investor concerns over reports that the company plans to raise $40 billion to purchase Nvidia chips. Tesla shares also declined by more than 2 per cent, adding to the losses.
Musk had first crossed the trillion-dollar threshold in June following SpaceX’s public listing, briefly taking his estimated fortune to $1.45 trillion.
Other prominent technology billionaires also recorded substantial losses on Thursday. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s net worth fell by $6.1 billion to $199.3 billion, taking it below the $200 billion mark. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison lost $8.9 billion, bringing his estimated wealth to $176.8 billion.
According to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires list, Huang ranked seventh after his wealth declined by around 3 per cent during the session, while Ellison remained eighth following a drop of more than 4.5 per cent.
The broader technology sell-off dragged down major US stock indices. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.4 per cent on Thursday, marking its steepest single-day decline in seven weeks, while the S&P 500 shed 0.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, Indian information technology stocks showed strength in early trading on Friday. The Nifty IT index rose more than 3 per cent to 28,604.
The Sensex opened at 71,776.67, gaining 183.43 points, or 0.26 per cent, while the Nifty began the session at 22,314.95, up 83.15 points, or 0.37 per cent.
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