Billionaire investors are feeling the pinch as Donald Trump’s trade war continues to take its toll on the stock market. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have both dropped by nearly 8% since Trump took office, with some of America’s richest billionaires losing billions in wealth.
Elon Musk, who was $45 billion richer than he is today before Trump’s inauguration, has taken a hit. His electric carmaker Tesla has seen its stock crash by 33%, leaving Musk poorer by millions. Other big losers include Amazon’s Jeff Bezos ($35 billion), Alphabet’s Sergey Brin ($26 billion), and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg ($22 billion).
However, not all billionaires have been affected equally. Warren Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway has held steady, with its cash reserves growing to a record $334 billion. This has helped Buffett’s net worth increase by nearly $20 billion.
On the other side of the trade, some billionaires have seen their fortunes rise due to Trump’s policies. Peter Thiel, whose AI-powered data mining firm Palantir is in high demand, has gained $4.9 billion, while Alexander Karp’s company has also seen significant gains. The children of Walmart founder Sam Walton have become at least $3 billion richer, and Bill Gates has diversified his investments to emerge as a big winner.
President Trump’s own fortune has taken a hit, with his company’s shares plunging by 35%. However, two prominent billionaires have managed to bounce back: Charles Schwab and Roger Penske. Their fortunes have increased since the last day of Joe Biden’s presidency, but it remains to be seen how long this trend will continue.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2025/04/29/the-biggest-billionaire-winners-and-losers-of-trumps-first-100-days