Shafaq News/ Global billionaires endured a turbulent week as a sell-off sparked by the technology sector sent shockwaves through financial markets. The combined wealth of the world’s richest people fell by nearly $200 billion on Monday alone, before partially recovering as investors reassessed their portfolios.

The Japanese stock market was hit hardest by the crisis, losing around $1.1 trillion in market capitalization in just three trading days, according to Bloomberg data. As a result, Japan’s total market capitalization stood at around $6.1 trillion.

The technology sector was hit particularly hard as investors reassessed valuations inflated by the AI ​​boom. Analysts saw the correction as an opportunity to buy quality stocks at more reasonable prices.

Despite the overall market decline, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg emerged as a notable winner, increasing his net worth by $10 billion. This increase catapulted him to third place in the global wealth rankings, narrowly overtaking Europe’s richest man, Bernard Arnault. Zuckerberg’s wealth is now worth $184 billion, while Arnault’s increased by $2 billion.

In contrast, Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s fortune shrank from $235 billion the previous week to $229 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also suffered losses: he lost $3 billion, bringing his net worth to $190 billion. Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer lost $2 billion and $1 billion respectively. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin each suffered a loss of $3 billion.

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, bucked the trend and increased his wealth by $1 billion during the turbulent week. Buffett’s decision to sell off a significant portion of his Apple stake was what initially triggered the sell-off in technology companies.

Despite market volatility, worries about a U.S. recession, and impending policy changes by central banks in Japan and the U.S., many billionaires have seen their wealth soar this year. Zuckerberg, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, and Oracle’s Larry Ellison were among those who reached new heights in July.