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

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Flowers left near to the scene of a collision where two children died in Pitsea, Essex

Flowers left at site of fatal crash after two children killed in hit-and-run - as man and woman arrested

The Home Secretary has previously written to tech giants including X, Meta, TikTok and Google calling for them to remove harmful content or ‘risk a second Southport’.

‘A total disgrace’ that extreme content viewed by Southport killer still on social media, says Yvette Cooper

x

Raid on abattoir leads to human trafficking arrests

It was the third time Giorgia Meloni's far-right government tried and failed to process migrants in the non-EU country.

Meloni’s offshore migrant detention scheme fails for third time as Italy forced to take back asylum seekers

m

Killer nurse Lucy Letby's legal team to announce 'new medical evidence' from panel of experts

Barclays logo high street bank sign outside branch of Barclays bank in the Shropshire town of Ludlow, England

Barclays apologises for IT glitch that 'left people homeless' and says services are back to normal

A 61-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Lamduan Armitage in 2004

Man, 61, arrested over 2004 death of Thai woman found dead in stream in Yorkshire Dales

The man hit the waitress with a plate. Picture: Social media

Man arrested after Nando's worker slapped in face with plate by customer

A man uses a cash point machine outside a branch of Barclays...

Barclays customers facing third day of problems due to ongoing IT issue

President Trump Signs Executive Orders In The Oval Office

Trump risks trade war as China, Canada and Mexico vow to respond to string of trade tariffs

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, shakes hands with U.S president-elect Donald Trump, left, before a bilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace, December 7, 2024 in Paris, France.

US wants Ukraine to hold elections after potential ceasefire with Russia, Trump envoy says

The plans were announced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper

Owning AI tech to create child sex abuse images to become criminal offence as reports of depraved pictures soar

A man and a woman have been arrested after two young children died in a crash in Essex on Saturday evening.

Man and woman arrested over death of young boy and girl after ‘hit and run’ crash

General view of a Barclays bank in Moorgate as reports state...

Barclays tells customers to go to friends, family or food banks after people left ‘homeless’ amid IT glitch

London, England, 1st Feb 2025.  Tens of thousands of the far right converged around Whitehall this weekend to protest against the incarceration of Tommy Robinson who has been in isolation in HMP Woodhill for over 13 weeks.

Six arrests made as thousands of Tommy Robinson supporters march through London

Trump says US airstrikes 'killed many' ISIS terrorists

'We will find you and we will kill you' - Trump says US airstrikes have 'killed many' ISIS terrorists hiding in caves