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- Kimberly White—Getty Images for New York Times
Kimberly White—Getty Images for New York Times
The richest people in the world lost a collective $41 billion when global markets spasmed after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election.
Carlos Slim, Mexico's richest man and the fifth-wealthiest man in the world, lost $5.1 billion alone, according to Bloomberg. The 10 Mexican billionaires on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index lost a collective $6.5 billion—and when the Mexican peso fell 12% to a record low after the results of the election, Slim lost more than 9% of his wealth.
In Japan, traders working a foreign exchange desk watch U.S. election results. The Nikkei index fell more than 900 points as Trump's win became real. Toru Hanai—ReutersThe Philippine Stock exchange fell to a 7-month low on Trump’s win. In this photo, a Filipino trader looks at the electronic board showing a downward trend during trading at the Philippine Stock Exchange at the financial district of Makati, south of Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. Aaron Favila—APPedestrians look at an electronic stock board displaying the Nikkei Stock Average outside a securities firm in Tokyo on Nov. 9, 2016. The yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar, which will make it more difficult for Japan to fight off its ongoing inflation problem. Tomohiro Ohsumi—Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAs news that Clinton lost major battleground states was confirmed, billions were wiped from Australian Securities Exchange, as it was described as "a sea of red." David Gray—ReutersOne of Trump's biggest campaign promises has been to crack down on the Chinese government, who Trump says weakens the value of China's renminbi, giving it an unfair advantage in world trade. The Chinese currency rallied as the U.S. dollar's value fell following Trump's win. Wang Zhao—AFP/Getty ImagesAsian markets were up and running during the wee hours of the morning in the U.S., when Trump's gain on electoral college votes surpassed Clinton's. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell to 2.6%. Isaac Lawrence—AFP/Getty ImagesGulf State markets -- such as the Qatar Stock Exchange being monitored by a trader shown here -- fell after news of the Trump victory. These markets are heavily exposed to changes in the oil market, and Trump has promised to make America an even bigger fuel and oil producer. Naseem—ReutersA trader watches Trump on TV as Dubai’s stock market falls. The one upside for traders there? The U.S. doesn't do much trade with countries like Dubai, so Trump's protectionist trade policies may not impact them directly. Ashraf Mohammad Mohammad Alam—ReutersIn Germany, the DAX exchange fell 3% after trading began, following news of Trump's victory. Michael Probst—APTraders on the floor at ETX Capital in London watched as Trump was elected. The UK markets suffered huge losses in June, after their own surprise Brexit referendum results sent stocks into a tailspin. Chris Ratcliffe—Bloomberg via Getty ImagesA man looks at a screen displaying news of markets update inside the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, November 9, 2016. Danish Siddiqui—Reuters
Granted, that's not as steep as the $212 billion the world's wealthiest people lost in the wake of the U.K.'s Brexit vote, but it erases nearly all of the $57 billion gain this population realized when stocks rose within the past week in expectation of a Clinton victory. U.S. billionaires on Bloomberg's list lost a combined $9.3 billion on the market's gyrations.
"This is much bigger than Brexit," Convergex chief market strategist Nicholas Colas told Reuters. "But it doesn't prevent people from thinking about the Brexit playbook." He added, though, that the Brexit-prompted slump was short-lived, and suggested that the markets would benefit from the stability of a definitive outcome in the election.
