BRUSSELS / LONDON 

Despite the campaign backing he received from wealthier Americans, US President Donald Trump’s rhetoric has seen eight US billionaires suffer more than $250 billion in financial losses since he took office in January.

They include the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, also Trump’s largest campaign donor, who spent $277 million to get him elected, after which the mogul was given extensive powers by Trump to downsize government and fire thousands of workers.

Musk’s personal fortune broke a record in December as his net worth, tied to his holdings in Tesla, SpaceX, social media platform X and other companies, reached a peak of $486 billion.

However, Trump’s policies since taking office have seen Musk’s fortunes sinking.

Musk's losses have been estimated at over $130 billion since mid-January. He lost $39 billion on Monday alone, led by falling Tesla shares, investor concerns, and declining sales, some spurred by his large public role in the Trump administration.

Tesla hit a $1.4 trillion market cap in December, making up the total value of all other major players in the global auto industry.

Musk’s Nazi-like salute at Trump’s inauguration and his public support for far-right political parties in Europe led to Tesla sales on the continent tanking.

Tesla’s market cap fell to $770 billion as of Monday, losing 50% of its value in only three months.

Musk’s fall was followed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, another billionaire who attended Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration in a high-profile show of support.

Bezos lost $20 billion since Trump took office, with his e-commerce website Amazon seeing an 11% drop in shares.

US tech firm Oracle founder Larry Ellison lost $20 billion, while Dell founder Michael Dell saw both his personal and company fortunes plummet $20 billion each.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also lost $20 billion, while Nvidia shares fell 20% after the release of its next iteration of consumer graphics cards.

Google’s parent firm Alphabet’s shares fell 12%, while its cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin lost $18 billion and $17 billion, respectively.

Microsoft shares dropped 10% as its ex-CEO Steve Ballmer saw a $13 billion hit to his fortune.

- Protectionism fuels tensions

Trump’s tariffs and tit-for-tat retaliation against countries that dare to challenge him are continuing to fuel global trade tensions.

The US stock market lost $2 trillion on Monday due to uncertainties over these policies and recession concerns.

Trump’s 25% steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China went into effect on Wednesday.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the US imposed tariffs worth $28 billion via steel and aluminum customs duties.

“The countermeasures we take today are strong but proportionate,” she said. “As the US are applying tariffs worth $28 billion, we are responding with countermeasures worth €26 billion (some $28 billion).”

When asked last Sunday by Fox News if he expects a recession, Trump seemed to dodge the question, saying he “hates to predict things.”

“There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big,” he said. “We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing. And there are always periods… it takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us,” he added.