Market rout wipes $114 billion from fortunes of world's richest

By Krista Gmelich and Jack Witzig

A plunge in US stocks Monday cut the fortunes of the world's 500 richest people by $114 billion as the optimism over tax cuts that fueled January's gains gave way to worries about inflation.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett, the world's third-richest person, was hardest hit, losing $5.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Berkshire is the biggest shareholder of Wells Fargo & Co., which plunged 9.2 per cent, the most in the S&P 500. Buffett, 87, was one of 18 billionaires in the Bloomberg ranking to lose more than $1 billion on the day. Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg's fortune tumbled by $3.6 billion, the second-biggest decline.

Even Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos, the world's richest person, wasn't immune to the carnage. His fortune slipped $3.3 billion to $116.4 billion as shares of the retail behemoth fell 2.8 per cent. Alphabet Inc.'s Larry Page and Sergey Brin each took hits of about $2.3 billion.

The rout followed more modest declines on Friday that erased $68.5 billion in wealth from the world's 500 richest people.