Elon Musk just set a new Guinness world record — for the largest loss of personal fortune in history. Here are 3 ways to bet on the billionaire while he's down
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With markets plunging, the past year has been rough for most investors. But one investor suffered the biggest loss of them all — Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk.
According to Guinness World Records, Musk has “officially broken the world record for the largest loss of personal fortune in history.”
How big is that loss?
Forbes estimates that Musk’s net worth went from a peak of $320 billion in November 2021 to $138 billion in January 2023, marking a staggering drop of $182 billion. Meanwhile, Bloomberg’s calculation suggests that Musk has erased over $200 billion from his net worth.
“Although the exact figure is almost impossible to ascertain, Musk’s total losses far surpass the previous record of $58.6 billion, set by Japanese tech investor Masayoshi Son in 2000,” Guinness World Records says in a press release.
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The drop in Musk’s net worth was largely due to the poor performance of Tesla stock. Shares of the electric car maker plunged 65% in 2022.
But Musk remains optimistic.
“Long-term fundamentals are extremely strong. Short-term market madness is unpredictable,” he writes in the tweet on Dec. 30.
If you still believe in the serial entrepreneur, here are three ways you can bet on him.
Tesla (TSLA)
Musk has created quite a few successful businesses. But he is best-known as the co-founder and CEO of EV maker Tesla.
According to Bloomberg, Musk’s biggest asset at the moment is Tesla equity.
While Tesla stock hasn’t been a hot commodity, it remains a behemoth in the automotive industry. With a market cap of around $360 billion, Tesla is several times bigger than Ford and General Motors combined.
And despite the stock’s downturn, business is still heading in the right direction.
In 2022, Tesla’s vehicle deliveries grew 40% year over year to $1.31 million. Meanwhile its production increased 47% year over year to 1.37 million.
Wall Street also sees upside in Tesla shares. For instance, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas has an ‘overweight’ rating on Tesla and a price target of $250 — roughly 116% above where the stock sits today.
Cryptocurrency
Once considered a niche asset, cryptocurrency has now entered the mainstream. A study from the CFA Institute in 2022 showed that 94% of state and government pension plans have invested in cryptocurrencies.
Of course, many investors learned about cryptocurrencies’ volatility the hard way through the massive pullback. For instance, bitcoin — the largest cryptocurrency in the world — plunged 65% in 2022.
Musk has been one of the more outspoken proponents of cryptocurrency.
“I still own & won’t sell my Bitcoin, Ethereum or Doge fwiw,” he said in a tweet earlier last year.
There are plenty of platforms that allow you to invest in crypto. Just be aware of fees: many exchanges charge up to 4% in commission fees just to buy and sell crypto. But some investing apps charge 0%.
Real estate
In the tweet where Musk shared his view on crypto, he also discussed the importance of owning “physical things” in an inflationary environment.
“As a general principle, for those looking for advice from this thread, it is generally better to own physical things like a home or stock in companies you think make good products, than dollars when inflation is high.”
Despite the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes, real estate remains a popular asset. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price NSA Index is up 8.6% over the past year.
As the price of raw materials and labor goes up, new properties are more expensive to build. And that drives up the price of existing real estate.
Well-chosen properties can provide more than just an inflation hedge. Investors also get to earn a steady stream of rental income.
But you don’t need to be a landlord to start investing in real estate. There are plenty of real estate investment trusts (REITs) as well as crowdfunding platforms that can get you started on becoming a real estate mogul.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
