Billionaires Gautam Adani and Elon Musk are locked in a race that neither of them wants to win: who will be the biggest loser in the Bloomberg Real-Time Billionaire’s Index in 2025?
At one point, Musk’s fortune looked set to bulldoze past the $500-billion mark, specially after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. But the Tesla owner’s fortunes have since plunged off a cliff, dropping from a peak of $455 billion to $397 billion as of Thursday.
Adani, too, has watched helplessly as his group companies’ stocks have nosedived, wiping out a staggering $11.9 billion since the start of 2025.
That loss is dwarfed by Musk’s, but it still makes him the second-biggest loser of the year. His net worth now stands at $66.8 billion, ranking him 23rd globally. While he remains Asia’s second-richest person, he now lags far behind Mukesh Ambani, whose fortune stands at $88.7 billion.
Adani was once the world’s fourth-richest person, with a colossal $141 billion fortune in September 2022.
However, a report by U.S. hedge fund Hindenburg Research in January 2023 — which accused the Adani Group of share manipulation and accounting fraud — triggered a steep decline in valuation. In the aftermath, Adani’s wealth plummeted by over $100 billion.
The Adani Group vigorously denied the Hindenburg accusations as “baseless”. Adani derives his wealth from the Adani Group, a conglomerate whose interests span ports, energy, infrastructure, and more.
India’s stock markets have surged in recent years, ensuring that Ambani and Adani now surpass the wealthiest individuals in China and Hong Kong.
However, just behind Adani in 24th place globally is WeChat’s Ma Huateng, worth $55.1 billion, alongside Zhong Shanshan, another Chinese billionaire with the same net worth.
Elon Musk’s wealth primarily stems from his significant ownership stakes in Tesla; aerospace company SpaceX which has won numerous government contracts and with President Trump in the White House stands to secure many more; social media platform X (formerly Twitter): and artificial intelligence firm xAI:
One of his most exciting ventures is Neuralink, which develops implantable brain-computer interfaces. In early 2024, they implanted a chip in a human, enabling computer control via thought. Their “Blindsight” implant aims to restore vision for the blind.
Musk, who first became the world’s richest person in 2021 and is a fervent Trump supporter, is now laser-focused on cutting US government spending as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Reports have emerged of Musk’s DOGE enforcing gruelling 120-hour workweeks, with employees sleeping in AI-powered pods. This intense work environment has led to errors, such as a misreported $8-billion saving that was actually $8 million.
At a recent conference, Musk wielded a chainsaw on stage to symbolise his planned big government spending cuts.
Meanwhile, Tesla Motors remains more valuable than all the world’s top automakers combined, but Musk’s far-right political views and increasingly erratic and provocative behavior have begun to alienate buyers.
Musk, who aspires to “die on Mars”,’ just this week labelled Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky a “despised dictator”, echoing charges by Trump.