Elon Musk registered a loss of $363 billion, equivalent to about R$ 1.85 trillion, during the month of July, according to a Forbes survey. Despite this significant decline in his net worth, he maintained his position as the richest person on the planet. The reduction in wealth was a consequence of the devaluation of his companies' shares, Tesla and SpaceX.
Even with this retraction, technology corporations continue to exert great influence on the global ranking, with eight out of ten individuals with the greatest global wealth having representation in technology companies.
Although the financial setback was notable, it did not change Musk's position in the ranking. Currently, the entrepreneur has an estimated fortune of $690 billion (approximately R$ 3.51 trillion). Shortly before this drop, on June 12, Musk had reached the historic mark of $1 trillion (about R$ 5.09 trillion) in his net worth.
The decrease in value was primarily due to the negative performance of his two main companies. SpaceX shares suffered a 37% drop, while Tesla stocks recorded a 26% decline in July. This scenario caused Musk to accumulate the largest loss among billionaires at the top of the list.
In general terms, the group of the ten largest fortunes globally suffered a total reduction of $368 billion (about R$ 1.87 trillion) in the analyzed period, but the total amount still sums up to $2.6 trillion (approximately R$ 13.23 trillion).
In contrast, Jeff Bezos had a positive month. The Amazon founder increased his net worth by $29 billion (about R$ 147.61 billion) thanks to a 14% appreciation in his company's shares. This gain allowed Bezos to reclaim the third spot, boasting a fortune of $278 billion (approximately R$ 1.42 trillion), surpassing Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google.
Larry Page, another Google founder, remained in second place, with $292 billion (about R$ 1.49 trillion). Meanwhile, Jensen Huang, who serves as co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, reached $174 billion (approximately R$ 885.66 billion) and moved up to seventh place after his company's appreciation.
Among the highlights of the ranking are: Elon Musk leading the list with stakes in Tesla, SpaceX, and other companies; Larry Page and Sergey Brin representing Google among the billionaires; the rise of Jensen Huang due to the increase in Nvidia's value; and the recovery of space for Jeff Bezos after the rise in Amazon shares.
The data provided by Forbes demonstrates the strong presence of technology companies among the world's largest fortunes. Eight of the ten largest fortunes are associated with companies such as Google, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, Oracle, Tesla, and SpaceX.
Besides Musk, Bezos, Page, and Brin, the group includes Mark Zuckerberg, from Meta; Larry Ellison, from Oracle; and Michael Dell, from Dell Technologies. The only names not part of this group are Bernard Arnault, controller of LVMH, and Warren Buffett, chairman of the board of Berkshire Hathaway.
This concentration is also visible in the geographical distribution: nine of the ten richest billionaires are American citizens. The only exception is Arnault, who represents the European luxury sector, coming from France. The ranking illustrates how market fluctuations can modify fortunes in just a few weeks, keeping Musk in the lead of a list dominated by entrepreneurs linked to technology, even after billion-dollar losses.
The Government of West Bengal has approved the process of acquiring land parcels for the creation of a new railway line. This project aims to improve transport connectivity with the India-China-Bhutan trijunction region. The new railway branch is expected to stimulate tourism activity in the Jaldakhaka-Bindu-Toidey-Tangta region.
Railway services and the forest department will conduct a joint inspection of the area after the monsoon season ends. This strategically important project was previously stalled due to a lack of cooperation from the state government.
To expedite the construction of the new railway line, which will provide better connectivity to the border area near the India-China-Bhutan trijunction, the West Bengal government has granted permission for the accelerated acquisition of about 380 hectares of land. As a result, work on the Chalsa-Naksak line project, spanning 20 kilometers and originally approved in 2011-2012, is likely to accelerate.
The route of this line starts from Huniya More, near Chalsa, passes through the forest districts of Jalpaiguri and Kalimpong. It was added that this railway connection will improve access to the India-China-Bhutan trijunction and boost tourism in the Jaldakhaka-Bindu-Toidey-Tangta area.
The country's five largest banks recorded profits exceeding 2.5 billion euros during the first half of this year.
