Warren Buffett Gains While Tech Giants Lose Billions in One Day

The world’s wealthiest tech billionaires faced significant losses last Monday as stock markets fell sharply. The seven largest tech companies, often referred to as the Magnificent Seven, collectively lost around $780 billion in market value within a single trading day.

What Happened: According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk experienced the largest decline, with his net worth plunging from $306 billion to $301 billion. In comparison, Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos saw a reduction of $4.21 billion in his wealth, while Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg lost $9.46 billion.

Other billionaires in the tech industry also suffered losses. Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison lost $7.26 billion, and Alphabet Inc. co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin saw their fortunes decrease by $6.16 billion and $5.73 billion, respectively. Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., lost $1.10 billion, while former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer saw a decline of $4.17 billion. In total, the top 10 billionaires lost approximately $67.3 billion in just one day.

During the tech sell-off, shares of Tesla dropped by 15.44%, whereas other major tech firms like Apple Inc. and NVIDIA Corp. fell by 5.91% and 6.74%, respectively. This turmoil pushed the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust into correction territory, having dropped more than 10% from its recent highs.

Warren Buffett, however, stood apart from these losses. While other billionaires were losing wealth, Buffett gained $607 million amid the market chaos. As the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, which reportedly holds a cash stockpile of $334 billion, he has positioned himself to take advantage of the current market downturn, particularly after previously alerting investors to high stock valuations.

Why It Matters: Despite the tumult, Berkshire Hathaway has been a net seller of stocks for the past nine quarters, primarily due to elevated valuations in the market. Furthermore, Buffett has reduced his stake in Apple and stopped stock buybacks, which has enhanced the company's cash reserves.

Investor concerns about the potential impacts of President Donald Trump's proposed tariff plans and growing fears of a recession have also fueled market volatility. Analysts at Goldman Sachs warn that tariffs could lower corporate profits by 1-2% for every 5% rise, which could lead to a 5% decrease in the S&P 500 index.

Notably, despite recent losses, many tech billionaires still boast significant gains year-to-date. For example, Zuckerberg is up $4.12 billion in 2025. Meanwhile, Tesla's valuation remains high at more than 100 times its earnings, despite having halved since its peak in December.

Buffett, Musk, Losses