Elon Musk no longer the world's richest man after takeover of Twitter

5 April 2023, 09:26 | Updated: 5 April 2023, 09:33

Musk is now the second-richest billionaire
Musk is now the second-richest billionaire. Picture: Getty
Kieran Kelly

By Kieran Kelly

Elon Musk is no longer the richest man in the world after his $44bn acquisition of Twitter in October.

Mr Musk took second spot in Forbes’s annual “World’s Billionaire List”, with Bernand Arnault taking the throne.

Mr Musk’s net worth fell to $180bn, $31bn less Mr Arnault’s $211bn. The latter has seen his net worth increase by $53bn in the past year.

According to the list, Mr Musk has seen $39bn of his net worth was knocked off in a year following the purchase of Twitter, which was largely funded by selling shares in Tesla.

Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter
Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter. Picture: Getty

The drop in his net worth comes after Twitter's worst ever year on Wall Street, with the company losing £700bn in investor money.

“Musk has mostly tweeted himself out of the top spot on the rank,” Forbes said.

Read More: Elon Musk urges pause to 'out of control' AI development over 'threat to civilisation'

Read More: Twitter users need to pay to appear in feed and vote in polls as Elon Musk announces more changes

Coming in at number three on Forbes' “World’s Billionaire List” was Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, who lost $57bn of his net worth.

As with Mr Musk's Twitter, Mr Bezos saw his company underperform last year with its share price falling by around 40 per cent.

Jeff Bezos has seen his wealth tumble
Jeff Bezos has seen his wealth tumble. Picture: Getty

The declining wealth of Mr Musk and Mr Bezos fits with the overall trend on Forbes' list.

Forbes said the number of billionaires across the world dropped by 28 in 2022, falling to 2,640 from 2,668 last year.

"Altogether, the planet’s billionaires are now worth $12.2tn, a drop of $500bn from $12.7tn in March 2022," it added.

Full list

Helene Arnault, Bernard Arnault, Christine Lagarde and Thierry Breton attend the "Basquiat x Warhol. Painting Four Hands" opening at the Louis Vuitton Foundation
Helene Arnault, Bernard Arnault, Christine Lagarde and Thierry Breton attend the "Basquiat x Warhol. Painting Four Hands" opening at the Louis Vuitton Foundation. Picture: Getty

Bernard Arnault & family - Net worth: $211 Billion

Elon Musk - Net worth: $180 Billion

Jeff Bezos - Net worth: $114 Billion

Larry Ellison - Net worth: $107 Billion

Warren Buffett - Net worth: $106 Billion

Bill Gates - Net worth: $104 Billion

Michael Bloomberg - Net worth: $94.5 Billion

Carlos Slim Helú & family - Net worth: $93 Billion

Mukesh Ambani - Net worth: $83.4 Billion

Steve Ballmer - Net worth: $80.7 Billion

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers & family - Net worth: $80.5 Billion

Larry Page - Net worth: $79.2 Billion

Amancio Ortega - Net worth: $77.3 Billion

Sergey Brin - Net worth: $76 Billion

Zhong Shanshan - Net worth: $68 Billion

Mark Zuckerberg - Net worth: $64.4 Billion

Charles Koch - Net worth: $59 Billion

Julia Koch & family - Net worth: $59 Billion

Jim Walton - Net worth: $58.8 Billion

Rob Walton - Net worth: $57.6 Billion

Alice Walton - Net worth: $56.7 Billion

David Thomson & family - Net worth: $54.4 Billion

Michael Dell - Net worth: $50.1 Billion

Gautam Adani - Net worth: $47.2 Billion

Phil Knight & family - Net worth: $45.1 Billion

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