The six wealthiest people in the world collectively lost $130 billion on Thursday as tech sector stocks tumbled on renewed fears about the return on investment for the hundreds of billions of dollars companies are pouring into AI infrastructure.
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Key Takeaways
- Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Michael Dell and Mark Zuckerberg lost the combined 12-figure sum as Tesla, SpaceX, Amazon, Google, Dell and Meta shares all fell.
- Musk’s net worth fell $74 billion to $914.7 billion on Thursday afternoon as SpaceX shares sank nearly 9% despite the company on Tuesday reporting 161% year-over-year revenue growth, as investors digest a $35 billion cash-flow gap and Musk’s confirmation the company is considering merging with Tesla.
- Musk’s Tesla was also down 2% in the afternoon despite the company’s surprise $1.5 billion in free cash flow for the third quarter, as it revised its full-year capital expenditure guidance to $20 billion from over $25 billion at a time when investors are looking for updates on its AI and robotics projects.
- Amazon’s Bezos, who holds the No. 2 spot on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires list, lost an estimated $11 billion as the company’s shares fell nearly 5% as part of the broader tech and AI-related market selloff.
- Google co-founders Page and Brin, who hold the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively, lost a combined $15 billion as the stock fell over 3%.
- Dell, the fifth-richest person, lost $12 billion as Dell Technologies plunged 7%.
- Meta’s Zuckerberg lost $18 billion as the stock was down 8% after the company increased the lower end of its capital expenditure forecast range by $5 billion, to a range of $135 billion to $145 billion.
KEY BACKGROUND
After Meta and Tesla released their third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, investors were worried about AI spending in two ways. Meta, which reported a 26% rise in revenue year-over-year and spent $34.9 billion in capital expenditures for the quarter, narrowed the range for its capital spending plans, leaving investors concerned about the return on investment for such high spending. On the other end of the spectrum, Tesla surprised investors by generating $1.5 billion in free cash flow when analysts expected a $4.9 billion cash burn. It also cut its full-year capital expenditure guidance from over $25 billion to $20 billion, which sparked fears that the company is developing its AI and robotics projects at a slower pace.
FORBES VALUATION
As of 3 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Musk was worth an estimated $917.6 billion, down significantly from the day prior when he briefly regained his trillionaire status. Bezos is worth an estimated $370.4 billion, Page $266.9 billion, Brin $245.7 billion, Dell $236.6 billion and Zuckerberg $221.5 billion.
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