Tech billionaires lose $34.4bn amid market sharp decline

• Published On: 30 March 2025 at 16:05

As technology stocks fell sharply, tech billionaires' net worth decreased by $34.4 billion.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg led the losses, losing $8.8 billion, according to Forbes' real-time billionaire index.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, followed closely, losing $7.9 billion of his wealth. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-founders of Google, as well as Oracle's Larry Ellison, suffered significant losses of $6.2 billion, $5.8 billion, and $5.7 billion, respectively.

Fresh inflation data sparked the market downturn, reigniting concerns about stagflation—an economic scenario marked by slowing growth and persistently high prices. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, beat expectations, causing a widespread selloff in major technology stocks.

Meta Platforms Inc.'s shares fell 4.29% to $576.74, while Amazon fell by the same amount to $192.72. Oracle's stock fell 3.47%, bringing its year-to-date loss to 9%, as investors became concerned about its aggressive spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, saw its Class C shares fall 4.89% to $156.06. The stock is currently trading 25% below its 52-week high of $208.70 set in February. Meanwhile, Microsoft shares fell 3.02% to $378.80, adding to the sector-wide decline.

For much of the past year, the world's wealthiest tech executives have ridden a wave of rising stock prices, fuelled by AI enthusiasm and a strong economy. However, this week's losses highlight the volatility of their fortunes amid broader economic uncertainty.

The downturn raises concerns about whether the tech sector's long-held dominance in the stock market is about to deteriorate. Investors are now facing a critical period as they determine whether this is merely a short-term correction or the start of long-term instability in the tech sector. With inflation concerns persisting and the Federal Reserve considering its next move, the coming weeks will be critical for market analysts and tech titans alike.