On March 3, the world's 500 richest people lost a total of $208 billion after US President Donald Trump announced new import tariffs, according to Bloomberg's calculations. The news sent global markets into a panic.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, this is the fourth-largest one-day drop in the index's 13-year history and the largest since the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than half of the billionaires on Bloomberg's list lost some of their wealth, by an average of 3.3%. The biggest losses were recorded among American businessmen, including Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Meta, and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.

Here are some of the biggest losses of the day:

  • Mark Zuckerberg: The founder of Meta lost the most - $17.9 billion, or about 9% of his fortune. The company's shares fell 9%, even though they grew rapidly from January to mid-February. 
  • Jeff Bezos: Amazon's shares fell 9%, the most since April 2022. As a result, Bezos' personal wealth decreased by $15.9 billion. 
  • Elon Musk: Tesla's CEO lost $11 billion on March 3 alone, and has already lost $110 billion since the beginning of the year. Although Tesla is partially protected from tariffs due to its American production, investors are concerned about the decline in supply and Musk's involvement in Trump's policy initiatives.
  • Ernest Garcia III: Carvana's CEO lost $1.4 billion when the company's shares fell 20%. Prior to that, they were up more than 425% for the year, but have lost 36% since mid-February.
  • Toby Luetke: The co-founder and CEO of Canadian e-commerce company Shopify lost $1.5 billion, or 17% of his fortune. Shares of Shopify, which derives a significant portion of its revenue from the sale of imported goods, fell 20% in Toronto.
  • Bernard Arnault: Shares of LVMH, which owns brands such as Christian Dior, Bulgari and Loro Piana, fell in value, wiping $6 billion off the fortune of Europe's richest man, due to an expected 20% U.S. tariff on European goods, including alcohol and luxury goods.
  • Zhang Congyuan: The founder of Chinese shoe manufacturer Huali Industrial Group lost $1.2 billion (13% of his fortune) after an additional 34% tariff on Chinese goods sent the company's shares tumbling.

Who avoided losses?

Mexico's Carlos Slim is among a small group of billionaires outside the United States who avoided the impact of the tariffs. His fortune rose 4% to $85.5 billion after Mexico was removed from the list of countries subject to the new tariffs. The Mexican stock market index even increased by 0.5%. The fortunes of Middle Eastern billionaires also showed positive momentum.

As a reminder, Apple shares fell by more than 6% at the end of trading on Wednesday, April 2, leading the overall decline in the tech sector after US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on imported goods.