The world's richest person is worth less in 2025 than at the end of 2024, with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk seeing his wealth take a hit as he battles with President Donald Trump.
What Happened: The share price of Tesla has been highly volatile since Trump won the 2024 presidential election.
Tesla shares hit new all-time highs in December 2024, driven by optimism for the electric vehicle leader and the strong relationship between Musk and Trump, which could help address regulatory issues and attract new fans. Tesla stock also traded over $400 at the start of 2025.
Musk's work done with the government through the Department of Government Efficiency led to a call for boycotts against Tesla, and may be a reason for the weakened demand globally in 2025.
Several recent falling outs between Musk and Trump have caused Tesla shareholders to worry about the future and have led to a significant decline in Musk’s wealth in 2025.
Musk is worth an estimated $361 billion according to Bloomberg. While that figure is significant and higher than second-place Mark Zuckerberg ($252 billion), it is down $71.2 billion year-to-date in 2025.
For context, Musk has lost more in his net worth in 2025 than the next seven highest 2025 decliners combined, who are listed below with their rank on the list, net worth and YTD decline.
- 273. Dustin Moskovitz, Facebook co-founder, Asana Inc (NYSE:ASAN) founder: $11.4 billion, -$16.9 billion YTD
- 7. Bernard Arnault, LVMH (OTC:LVMUY) CEO: $162 billion, -$14.4 billion YTD
- 168. Mike Sabel, Venture Global (NYSE:VG) co-founder: $15.3 billion, -9.4 billion YTD
- 169. Bob Pender, Venture Global co-founder: $15.3 billion, -$9.4 billion YTD
- 9. Sergey Brin, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) co-founder: $152 billion, -$6.6 billion
- 8. Larry Page, Alphabet Inc co-founder: $162 billion, -$6.5 billion
- 189. Sukanto Tanoto, Royal Golden Eagle founder: $14.1 billion, -$6.3 billion
Musk has lost more wealth than these seven individuals combined. In fact, the $71.2 billion drop in his net worth is so steep, it would rank as the 23rd largest fortune in the world on its own. That means in 2025 alone, Musk has lost more money than the total net worth of all but about 20 billionaires.
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Why It's Important: Tesla stock is down 16.7% year-to-date in 2025, which has significantly impacted Musk's wealth, as he owns approximately 12% of the company. Other stakes in SpaceX and xAI have held up better but are less volatile, as they are privately held and don't experience the same valuation spikes as Tesla stock does on a day-to-day basis.
Regardless of how much Musk and Trump are worth, the Tesla CEO’s net worth is significantly higher, but investors may soon learn which figure truly matters when it comes to valuing Tesla.
Trump has threatened to investigate the subsidies that Tesla receives and is again speaking critically of electric vehicles. Tesla investors should also keep in mind that Trump was once strongly opposed to autonomous vehicles and stated that he would ban them from the road. The president appears to have had a change of heart or been influenced by Musk to make it easier to get autonomous vehicles on the road today.
Musk previously set a Guinness World Record in 2022 with the largest single-year wealth drop, with his net worth declining between $180 billion and $200 billion.
It is unlikely that Musk could see such a significant drop again in 2025, but continued battles between Musk and Trump could be a storyline to watch.
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