Largest loss of personal fortune

The largest loss of personal fortune is that of Elon Musk (South Africa), estimated by Forbes to be roughly $165 billion (£135B / €155B) as of December 2022.

Forbes report that Musk’s net worth dropped from its peak of $320 billion in November 2021 to $155 billion one year later, largely down to poor performance of Tesla’s stock.

Other sources suggest his losses could in fact be closer to $200 billion. Though the exact figure is almost impossible to ascertain, the total far surpass the previous record of $58.6 billion, suffered by Japanese tech investor Masayoshi Son in 2000.

Elon Musk suffers worst loss of fortune in history amid “market madness”