America's richest are 'poorer' than a year ago due to inflation, market declines
Members of the Forbes 400 are collectively worse off in 2022
Soaring inflation and market declines in the past year have pummeled Americans in their pocketbooks and portfolios, and the latest numbers show even the super-rich have taken a hit.
Forbes reported that its 2022 list of the 400 wealthiest people in the U.S. shows the group is collectively worse off financially than in 2021 due to the downturn in the economy, and the minimum net worth needed to make it on to The Forbes 400 fell for the first time since the Great Recession.
Bill Gates attends the World Leaders' Summit "Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment" session on day three of COP26 on Nov. 2, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images / Getty Images)
As a whole, the elites are $500 billion "poorer" and saw a drop in net worth of $4 trillion, equating to a decline of 11% from 2021, according to the outlet that ran the numbers using stock prices as of Sept. 2.
Forbes' data shows the last time the group's net worth declined was 2009, in the throes of America's last financial crisis.
The bar for making the cut dropped this year to a minimum net worth of $2.7 billion, down $200 million from 2021.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks about the new Facebook News feature at the Paley Center For Media on Oct. 25, 2019 in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Tech titans were hardest hit, losing a combined $315 billion, with the largest individual loss incurred by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who saw his net worth drop $76.8 billion. The Facebook founder now sits at No. 11 on the list of the country's richest, down from the No. 3 spot in 2021.
Despite significant losses and 41 individuals falling from the list this year, Forbes noted some major players still saw a boom this year. But only two individuals in the top 10 saw their net worth increase.
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One was Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who took the No. 1 spot on the Forbes 400 for the first time with a net worth of $251 billion, up $60.5 billion from 2021. He dethroned Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who went from the top spot to No. 2 on the list with a net worth of $151 billion following a 27% drop in Amazon shares.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez attending the global premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, at Odeon Leicester Square, London, on Aug. 30, 2022. (Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Media mogul and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was the only other person in the top ten to see his net worth grow, and he ranks in at No. 9 with a $76.8 billion fortune.
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The rest of the top ten all saw a drop in net worth, including No. 3 Bill Gates, No. 4 Larry Ellison, No. 5 Warren Buffet, No. 6 Larry Page, No. 7 Sergey Brin, No. 8 Steve Ballmer and No. 10 Jim Walton.