Elon Musk Loses $82 Billion in Wall Street Sell-Off Following U.S. Midterms

A dramatic trading session on Wall Street wiped billions off the fortunes of the world's richest individuals, led by Elon Musk. According to Forbes' real-time billionaire rankings, the net worth of the world's richest person shrank by approximately $82.1 billion, marking a 9.45% drop in a single day.

This represents one of the sharpest single-day hits to the billionaire's wealth, driven by a broad sell-off in technology stocks and mounting concerns over the implications of the U.S. midterm elections.

At the epicenter of the storm is Tesla, Musk's electric vehicle manufacturer, whose shares plunged by about 11.5% during trading to hover around $341. SpaceX also saw its valuation drop by roughly 9%, trading near $124. The steep declines across both enterprises deepen the blow to Musk's holdings and highlight the extreme volatility of his fortune.

The market turmoil follows the Democrats' victory in the midterm elections held on November 3, securing them control of both houses of Congress. Markets are increasingly jittery over potential regulatory tightening on tech giants, restrictions on artificial intelligence infrastructure development, and policy shifts affecting Musk's business empire.

For the billionaire, the outcome also constitutes a political setback. Musk poured nearly half a billion dollars into supporting Republican candidates ahead of the elections, yet despite the massive financial backing, Democrats secured decisive legislative majorities.

However, Musk was far from the only casualty. According to updated Forbes data, Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell lost approximately $18.8 billion, an 8.85% decrease in his net worth. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang shed about $14.4 billion, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison recorded a drop of roughly $11.9 billion, and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg lost about $8.3 billion.

The sell-off reflects a wider pressure on American tech behemoths. The Nasdaq composite registered steep declines during the session, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices traded in negative territory amid political anxiety and scrutiny over the scale of artificial intelligence capital expenditures.

Despite the dramatic blow, Musk retains his status as the world's wealthiest individual. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his fortune was recently estimated at around $865 billion, following a $33.5 billion drawdown. Discrepancies between Forbes and Bloomberg figures typically stem from differing valuation methodologies and update schedules.

The numbers vividly illustrate how sudden market volatility can erase tens of billions of dollars from the fortunes of global elites within hours, even as these losses remain largely on paper rather than liquid cash.