The combined wealth of the world’s 500 wealthiest individuals decreased by $208 billion on Thursday following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of broad tariffs, causing global markets to decline sharply.
This represents the fourth-largest single-day reduction in theBloomberg Billionaires Indexsince its inception 13 years ago, surpassed only by declines during the peak of the Covid-19 crisis.
The wealth index showed that over 50 per cent of tracked billionaires experiencedfinancial losses, with an average decrease of 3.3%. American billionaires were particularly affected, with Meta Platforms Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon Inc.’s Jeff Bezos experiencing significant losses.
Carlos Slim of Mexico was amongst the few non-US billionaires who remained unaffected by the tariffs. Meanwhile, the Mexican Bolsa increased by 0.5% after Mexico’s exclusion from reciprocal tariff targets, increasing Slim’s net worth by approximately 4% to $85.5 billion. The Middle East remained the sole region where Bloomberg-tracked billionaires recorded positive gains.

Notable losses for the day

Global markets shaken up

Global stock markets plunged as investors reacted to US President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs and China’s retaliatory measures. Wall Street faced heavy losses, with S&P 500 futures down 3.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 3.4% below 40,000, and Nasdaq futures tumbling 4%. Thursday had already seen the worst U.S. market decline in five years, with losses between 4% and 6%.
European markets fared even worse—Germany’s DAX dropped 5%, France’s CAC 40 fell 4.2%, and Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 3.8%. Asian markets were hit as well, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 2.8% and South Korea’s Kospi falling 0.9%.
Major companies exposed to China’s tariffs suffered sharp premarket declines, including Boeing (-6%) and Deere & Co. (-4.7%). Tech stocks were also hit hard, with Apple down 4.7%. Energy stocks slumped as oil prices plummeted 8%, bringing U.S. crude to its lowest level since 2021. Exxon Mobil and Chevron both lost around 4%.
China’s response included a 34% tariff on U.S. imports and tighter export controls on rare earths. This escalation has fueled concerns of a global slowdown, with economists warning of a potential 2% hit toUS economic growthand inflation nearing 5%. Treasury yields dropped sharply as investors anticipated rate cuts to counter economic risks.