Elon Musk has set a Guinness World Record for losing the most wealth ever.
The Tesla and Twitter CEO erased so much of his money since November 2021 that he’s broken the world record for the “largest loss of personal fortune in history,” the global organization that keeps track of record achievements said in a press release Friday.
© JIM WATSON, AFP via Getty Images
Elon Musk pauses and looks down as he speaks during a press conference at SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas in February.
Guinness reported the record after Forbes assessed Musk lost $182 billion, although other sources suggest that it could actually be closer to $200 billion.
Load Error
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.
Prior to Musk, the previous record for largest personal fortune wiped out was set by Softbank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son in 2000. According to Guinness, Son lost $58.6 billion.
According to Forbes, Musk’s net worth dropped from a peak of $320 billion in 2021 to $138 billion as of January 2023.
Tesla shares, responsible for most of Musk’s wealth, plummeted last year, dropping more than 65% in 2022.
In August, Musk sold nearly $7 billion worth of Tesla shares ahead of his acquisition of Twitter.
Tesla’sdrastic fall picked up speed after Musk bought Twitter in October.
“Long-term fundamentals are extremely strong. Short-term market madness is unpredictable,” Musk tweeted after the market closed for the year on Dec. 30, 2022.
Previously: After Tesla stock slide, Elon Musk is no longer richest person in the world, Forbes says
Twitter sued for not paying rent: Twitter sued for $136,000 in overdue rent at San Francisco office as Musk’s wealth shrinks
Musk, also Space X’s CEO, lost his title as the world’s richest person in December, making him second behind Bernard Arnault and family, the co-founder and CEO of the French conglomerate LVMH, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaires list.
The head of the French company owns Louis Vuitton and has an estimated net worth of $190 billion.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk now holds world record for largest loss of wealth ever, Guinness says