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Pass the hat.
The 500 wealthiest individuals have lost a combined $1.4 trillion in the first half of 2022, according to a Bloomberg report claiming that group took a hit of more than $200 billion Monday alone.
That report said cryptocurrency king Changpeng Zhao is the biggest loser in the billionaire boys club. He reportedly started the year worth $85.6 billion and now counts his net worth at just over $10 billion. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is said to be worth $197.1 billion. That’s down $73.2 billion from where he was six months ago. He’s still worth more than fellow rocket builder Jeff Bezos, whose net value is $127 billion after losing $65.3 billion in 2022.
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Bloomberg blames spiraling inflation in part for reversing a 2021 trend that saw the rich getting richer amid a booming U.S. stock market. It also cites a report from financial services company Capgemini Investors indicating money pumped into the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic benefited the wealthy.
At the start of the year, Bloomberg reported the world’s 10 richest people had added $402 billion to their fortunes in 2021. Musk started 2021 with a net worth of $156 billion and came into 2022 worth $277 billion.
[ ‘Pandemic Profiteers’: These billionaires hit the jackpot during the COVID-19 crisis ]
On Thursday, he plans to address employees at Twitter, the social media platform he offered $44 billion to purchase in April. Shares of the company are trading lower than when he made that proposal, which has experienced complications.
Other billionaires losing big in 2022 were tech whiz Mark Zuckerberg and luxury goods seller Bernard Arnault, who reportedly lost $64.4 billion and $56.8 billion, respectively.
With News Wire Services
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