When Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term as president, he was surrounded by his billionaire benefactors: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg—all of whom either contributed to Trump’s presidential campaign or showered him with cash before his inauguration.
Now, seven weeks later, as the economy has plummeted under Trump, that same group of billionaires has lost a significant amount of wealth.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the combined net worth of Bezos and Musk fell by a staggering $177 billion by March 10. Musk has faced the largest decline, with the net worth of Trump’s “first buddy” dropping by $148 billion since the markets closed on January 17.
And as the rest of the economy takes a hit, Trump’s honeymoon period seems to have come to a full stop.
The S&P 500 Index has decreased by 6.4% since Trump took office. And more recently, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 1,000 points on Monday, with Trump’s reckless tariffs and sweeping federal layoffs being key contributors.
According to Bloomberg, Musk’s financial struggles primarily stem from a downturn at Tesla, whose stock nearly doubled after Trump’s victory last November. Since then, its figures have taken a nosedive, especially in European nations like Germany, which have witnessed sales drop by more than 70% in just two months.
Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk are seen attending President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s sales in China dramatically slowed to a staggering 49% in February, hitting levels not seen since the summer of 2022. It turns out that “being a pompous Nazi” isn’t beneficial for business.
But Musk does have one person supporting his business: Trump.
The president announced that he bought a Tesla on Tuesday as a way of bolstering his co-president’s dwindling sales.
“Elon Musk is’ ‘putting it on the line’ in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! I’m going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Bezos, on the other hand, is bleeding his fortune due to the similarly poor choice to align himself with Trump. Not only did Bezos dine at Mar-a-Lago and announce plans for Amazon to distribute a documentary about Melania Trump, but he’s also adopted a more aggressive stance with his newspaper, The Washington Post.
Last month, Bezos announced that The Post’s opinion section would publish stories tied to “personal liberties and free markets” without showcasing opposing viewpoints. And on Monday, Ruth Marcus, a columnist and editor for The Post, quit after the publisher reportedly spiked a piece of hers that dissented from Bezos.
Not only have subscriptions to The Post plummeted since Bezos made these changes, but Amazon shares have dipped 14% since January 17.
Zuckerberg has also experienced some financial losses, with Bloomberg reporting that Meta’s stock rose 19% from mid-January to mid-February but has since lost those gains.
As for the U.S. economy, Trump has acknowledged that his tariff plans will cause “a little disturbance,” which will surely intensify now that he’s increased tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel imports.
But while the president insists we’re not heading into a recession, experts disagree.
The public is already beginning to turn against Trump. How much longer until his billionaire pals do the same?
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