30 Entrepreneurs That Lost Lots Of Money This Recession

Written by Michael Dunlop | Posted in Entrepreneurship | 38 comments

Hello Everyone,

The credit crunch / so-called recession will made some people very rich (look at the history of past recessions to see that) but like it or not it is the case that some established entrepreneurs have lost billions in last year! The list below is of the biggest loss’s in the last year! The main reason for the huge drops in net worth are because their net worth is estimated by the amount of shares they have in their company so when Google’s share price drops, Larry and Sergey’s net worth drops with it. It is also notable that Roman Abramovich lost $2.5 Billion in 2007 when he split with wife, Irina.

Although these huge companys have taken a huge hit in share price, it doesn’t mean that everything is all bad. Google still earns $691.27 a second and is set to have its best year yet! If you want a piece of the pie then you can create you own website by signing up for my 7 day FREE eCourse and checking out my blogging resources.

There is two sides to every equation, its up to you whether or not you make it! Have the end in mind and make sure every day you are working towards it! The other interesting point about these 30 entrepreneurs is that they all remain Billionaires

The Recession Made Them Broke

RANK	PERSON	2008 NET WORTH	2009 NET WORTH	LOSS OF WEALTH
1	Anil Ambani	42.0 Billion	10.1 Billion	31.9 Billion
2	Lakshmi Mittal	45.0 Billion	19.3 Billion	25.7 Billion
3	Carlos Slim	60.0 Billion	35.0 Billion	25.0 Billion
4	Warren Buffett	62.0 Billion	37.0 Billion	25.0 Billion
5	Mukesh Ambani	43.0 Billion	19.5 Billion	23.5 Billion
6	William Gates III	58.0 Billion	40.0 Billion	18.0 Billion
7	Alexei Mordashov	21.2 Billion	4.3 Billion	16.7 Billion
8	Vladimir Lisin	20.3 Billion	5.2 Billion	15.1 Billion
9	Roman Abramovich	23.5 Billion	8.5 Billion	15.0 Billion
10	Mikhail Fridman	20.8 Billion	6.3 Billion	14.5 Billion
11	Kirk Kerkorian	16.0 Billion	5.0 Billion	11.0 Billion
12	Li Ka-shing	26.5 Billion	16.2 Billion	10.3 Billion
13	Mikhail Prokhorov	19.5 Billion	9.5 Billion	10.0 Billion
14	Lee Shau Kee	19.0 Billion	9.0 Billion	10.0 Billion
15	Liliane Bettencourt	22.9 Billion	13.4 Billion	9.5 Billion
16	Shashi & Ravi Ruia	15.0 Billion	5.6 Billion	9.4 Billion
17	Francois Pinault & family	16.9 Billion	7.6 Billion	9.3 Billion
18	Bernard Arnault	25.5 Billion	16.5 Billion	9.0 Billion
19	Ingvar Kamprad	31.0 Billion	22.0 Billion	9.0 Billion
20	Prince Alwaleed	21.0 Billion	13.3 Billion	7.7 Billion
21	Sergey Brin	18.7 Billion	12.0 Billion	6.7 Billion
22	Larry Page	18.6 Billion	12.0 Billion	6.6 Billion
23	David Thomson & family	18.9 Billion	13.0 Billion	5.9 Billion
24	Nasser Al-Kharafi & family	14.0 Billion	8.1 Billion	5.9 Billion
25	Karl Albrecht	27.0 Billion	21.5 Billion	5.5 Billion
26	Paul Allen	16.0 Billion	10.5 Billion	5.5 Billion
27	Michael Otto & family	18.2 Billion	13.2 Billion	5.0 Billion
28	Abigail Johnson	15.0 Billion	10.0 Billion	5.0 Billion
29	Jacqueline Mars	14.0 Billion	9.0 Billion	5.0 Billion
30	John Mars	14.0 Billion	9.0 Billion	5.0 Billion

About Michael Dunlop

I'm Michael, I created this site back in 2009 and since then it's received over a million visitors from all around the world. We offer tutorials and inspiration for online entrepreneurs wanting to achieve more.

38 comments so far… Leave a reply

Scott :: IrnMedia.net
March 17, 2009 10:47 AM

And these entreprenuers are still billionares...? Billionares...?
30 Entrepreneurs That Lost Lots Of Money This Recession - Young Entrepreneur Forums
March 17, 2009 11:01 AM

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Farrhad A
March 17, 2009 11:09 AM

Great list Michael! The recession has definitely hit everyone. "The other interesting point about these 30 entrepreneurs is that they all remain Billionaires "--- haha :)
rafi
March 17, 2009 11:49 AM

interesting list.. attribute this to the recent recession across the globe. may god help us all..
Rogers
March 17, 2009 12:11 PM

Where did all this money went? Seriously, where is the money?

Michael Dunlop
March 17, 2009 12:18 PM

I think the biggest problem is the fact that everyone is panic selling and want to get rid of their shares which drives the share price down a lot even though the business may not be doing any worse, the economy as a whole reportedly is.
Yan Susanto
March 17, 2009 12:54 PM

The wealth of these billionaires come in the form of stock holdings so in down economy, when stock prices go south, the value of their stocks decrease and so do their wealth. You'll be surprised that many do not have lots of cash holdings. Money is to them is just a numbers game on paper. Yan

Brad Gosse
March 17, 2009 12:29 PM

The comments about them still being billionaires are funny. These are net worth numbers folks. Billions of loss is still devastating to these people. Most of this worth comes from stock value which dictates salary and bonuses for most.
Mike
March 17, 2009 12:55 PM

While i'm sure the credit crunch is to blame for many of these misfortunes, you can't assume that simply because the net worth of an individual has fallen since last year they have been hit by the recession. Bill Gates is a prime example - he quit his job and injected huge amounts of his personal fortune into his charitable foundation.
Scottie
March 17, 2009 1:03 PM

In effect, these entrepreneurs haven't lost anything, as they never had the cold hard cash in their hands, but it must be a bit scary to see your fortune halved and more in such a short period of time! I suppose i could still put up with 5 Billion though ;)
conrad
March 17, 2009 1:05 PM

You should list what companies they have up, or what lost them the money
Agent 001
March 17, 2009 1:21 PM

Indians are top in the list. They look like the biggest loser.
Harish
March 17, 2009 1:44 PM

Awesome post! Unbelievable that worlds richest people lost their money due to recession. Thanks a lot for the info Micheal
Raymond Crandall
March 17, 2009 2:51 PM

@Micheal Why would they do that? I would think assets are wasted when sold at lower prices (when the profits will decrease in value?) Accounting and marketing aren't really my thing, but panic selling seems foolish during an ongoing recession.

Michael Dunlop
March 17, 2009 3:05 PM

I think it comes down to a few reasons: - Everyone else is doing it - You want to sell before it drops any further - Bankrupt - Need the cash. If your shares are worth $10 today, tomorrow, 9, then the next day 8, its dropping a lot and you want to sell before it goes any further or your be lose out. Then when it starts to go back up you can buy them back at a huge discount.

Raymond Crandall
March 17, 2009 3:27 PM

I guess I over thought / blew the economic inflation problem out of proportions.

Michael Dunlop
March 17, 2009 4:11 PM

Yeh :) But notice that most of these company's are losing money now apart from Google that is still making more money. Internet business's will struggle to go out of business in this recession because we have such low costs as a business.

TechZoomIn
March 17, 2009 2:52 PM

3 top Indian guys are there in this list. They lost more than half percentage of money.
Englishabc
March 17, 2009 3:01 PM

As some of their billions involve the employment of people, I wonder how many were laid off as a result of their recent demise?

Michael Dunlop
March 17, 2009 3:07 PM

Exactly, 100,000's of people have been laid off and more to come I believe. We are at a all time high for unemployment.

Marshall
March 17, 2009 4:15 PM

Goodness that's a lot of money. I haven't heard of a lot of those guys. I need to look up where they're making AND losing all of their money! HAHA
Emma Riley Sutton
March 17, 2009 4:33 PM

How many billions do you have to loose to truly "feel it" when you are a billionaire many times over? Looking at these numbers make me doubt their way of life changed drastically. Thankfully, they didn't loose enough to be on the streets It is still shame they (and everyone else) still lost money. Good news...we will all recover. Don't panic and ride this out.

Michael Dunlop
March 17, 2009 4:38 PM

I don't plan on riding this recession out, its time to take action and build a business. Some of the most successful business's were created in down times.

Shane Hudson
March 17, 2009 4:47 PM

What..? The businesses that are on this list? Heh it is amazing how a company can start in a recession, earn megabucks then fall it he next recession! You would have thought that the last one would have given them the knowledge they need to not be touched?

Nate Moller
March 17, 2009 7:08 PM

These sames billionaires will probably MAKE back that and more during this recession too. Like was said my Michael:
Some of the most successful business’s were created in down times.
It's time to be creative and GROW!
James Avery
March 17, 2009 7:58 PM

Reminds me of the Laker quote - the easiest way to become a millionaire in the airline business is to start off as a billionaire!
Al-Kanz
March 17, 2009 9:14 PM

It's incredible !
James Cunningham
March 17, 2009 9:54 PM

This is a bit of a downer :(
Renelda
March 18, 2009 12:31 AM

Losing money for these folks is like losing $1.00. I don't think they feel the effect. Everyone is suffering some how with the economy.
Widodo
March 18, 2009 2:43 AM

Still, losing billions will not force them to live on the street or making a living as a scavenger. Think about the families and children whose father or mother made a living by working in their companies and were forced to leave the companies because of economic downturn. I just hope internet business will flourish and enable the distribution of wealth to many common men and women. So these common men and women will not have to depend or put the well beings of their families on the hands of these billionaires.
Ganesh - Online Bull
March 18, 2009 4:09 AM

Many Indian billionaires have lost quite a bit. I read in a news report that many hundreds of people who were billionaires last year, and not in the list this year. This is too bad. I agree with Nate, those who lost it this year, will again make it back to the top next year. :)
Daniel Matthews
March 27, 2009 5:41 PM

Michael is right, the people that have no intention of simply sitting back and watching the financial crisis unfold, are the bare few that will make a success of themselves. I for one am extremely excited, the recession has brought an amazing business opportunity upon myself and i intend to take full advantage. If you can start up well in a recession, imagine the effect on your business when the economy becomes stable once again!
YLTO
April 8, 2009 1:47 PM

Another Good List Michael.
ray
May 7, 2009 7:30 PM

why is it that one of these billion dollar guys can't provide a measly 5 million so that we can complete the funding for our electric (battery-powered) vehicle company ...any thoughts? .....
My220x
May 12, 2009 8:10 AM

These people have lost a lot of money and is a bit of a downer but we need to keep strong, keep on working and drive our businesses forward!
Yoga Mom
October 16, 2009 4:01 PM

Even though they are all still Billionaires I have a little bit of sympathy for them. It is all what you are used to having and perhaps it was a stressfull time for them. If one is attached to the money then losing it would hurt. If one were not attached it would be ok. It would be very interesting to ask each if it was stressful for them not having the money or if the amounts are just numbers to them?
Will Richards
November 21, 2009 7:01 PM

I doubt if many of them lose any sleep over their reduced fortunes. It is just a case of 'one door closes, and other one opens!'
Lynn Brown
March 13, 2011 3:26 AM

Thanks Michael for a very interesting post. I know you are showing a list of 30, but there were far more losses than listed here. Although, I believe this is the balance that needed to happen to bring awareness about how important it is to have more transparency when it comes to Wall Street, investors, investments and the governmnet! I look forward to the small business and online entrepreneurs to build us up and keep us moving forward. The internet has proven to be an important part in the success for so many. It will continue to do so as long as you realize it still takes a lot of hard work!