Donald Trump took the oath of office for his second term on January 20 surrounded by five of the world’s wealthiest individuals; Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, and Bernard Arnault.

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg were front and centre at US President Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20. But in the weeks since the swearing-in ceremony, the three are among five of the world's wealthiest people to see a combined $333 billion ($US210 billion) loss in wealth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg lost $5 billion, and Bernard Arnault, owner of the conglomerate behind Louis Vuitton and Dior and longtime friend of Trump, lost $5 billion. Before the swearing-in, these billionaires saw their wealth soar as investors poured in money, anticipating that Trump’s policies would benefit business.

As Donald Trump took the oath of office on January 20, 2025, the world's wealthiest were watching, seated in the Capitol Rotunda, surrounded by record-breaking fortunes. However, in the weeks that followed,