Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos still have more money than God, but after 2022 they have a lot less – which does call into question their business genius.

This year their companies have seen supply chain issues, dwindling consumer spending and less engagement from people as Covid-19 lockdowns came to an end.

They all responded like all people with more money than sense and fired thousands of employees who will take their experience to other companies.

Tesla and Twitter boss Elon [look at me] Musk’s net worth dropped an eye-watering $132 billion causing him to lose his title as the world’s richest person. That is not factoring into how much he might lose if Twitter goes tits up under his erratic management.

Musk’s space rival Jeff Bezos lost $84 billion and Mark Zuckerberg, pushing ahead, against all sense, with his ‘metaverse; plans lost $81 billion. While Zuckerberg used to rank consistently in the top 10 wealthiest people on the planet, he’s now at 25.

Even those tech billionaires who manage to keep themselves out of the headlines lost more money than entire communities will ever see in a generation.

US software King of the World Sir William Gates III lost $29 billion this year mostly because Microsoft shares lost 30 per cent. 

Google’s Sergey Brin lost $44.6 billion, and Larry Page lost $43.4 billion.

Microsoft isn’t alone. Tech stocks have been sliding all year, and things show no signs of turning around. At the close of the S&P 500 market yesterday, Apple was down 1.4 per cent and Netflix was done 3.7 per cent.

The most significant decline on the whole index was Tesla, which fell 11.4 per cent. The electric vehicle maker suspended production at a factory in Shanghai, according to published reports.

Some investors are getting worried about Musk’s continued involvement in Twitter at the expense of Tesla, although other shrewder investors might be hoping he does not come back and they can find someone who can turn the company around.