Elon Musk’s Role as ‘Chief Twit’ Knocks $10 Billion From Fortune
In the hours before finalizing his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc., Elon Musk said he bought the social-media platform to help humanity, not to make more money.
Indeed, by finalizing the deal, the world's richest person, who now calls himself “Chief Twit,” took an instant $10 billion hit to his net worth, according to calculations by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Musk, 51, spent at least $25 billion to follow through on his agreement from April to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share, assuming he kept the external investors who'd committed $7.1 billion to the deal.
But six months after Musk announced he would buy the company, his offer looks very expensive. Shares of social media companies have crashed as economic uncertainty and interest rate increases curb market speculation and advertiser spending.
The Solactive Social Media Index, which tracks the performance of publicly traded social-media companies, is down almost 40%. The Bloomberg wealth index factors in a similar drop in the value of Twitter, and, thus, Musk's stake.
Other peers have fared even worse. Shares of Meta Platforms Inc., owner of the Facebook and Instagram networks, are down 53% since Musk made his offer for Twitter in April, slashing Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's fortune by more than $100 billion from its peak. Snap Inc. has cratered 70% over the period, erasing the wealth of its co-founders.
Musk isn't the only Twitter investor taking a hit. Company co-founder Jack Dorsey and Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal al Saud supported the takeover and are thought to have remained investors in the company. Their wealth estimates dropped $380 million and $640 million, respectively.
Cashing Out
The flip side: For Twitter investors who are cashing out, Musk's
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