The stock market has had its worst day in almost 2 months on Monday as COVID-19 cases surge across the United States, weighing on market sentiment in Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 650 points, while the S&P fell 1.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite decreased by 1.6%.
Much of the losses can be attributed to major tech giants such as Facebook, whose CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, lost $2.8 Billion, as well as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who saw a loss of $1.7 Billion. Tesla’s Elon Musk was also affected, and saw his fortune fall by $66 Million, lowering his net worth to $93 Billion. Amongst the others hardest hit on Monday were former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer, renowned investor Warren Buffett, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and Walmart heiress Alice Walton, who brought the combined total losses of the top 10 to $14 Billion.
This is a stark contrast to the $159 Million gained by Amazon CEO and world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, who was the only one on the list of the top 10 wealthiest Americans to see his wealth increase on Monday, as Amazon shares continue to rise due to the mass demand for consumer goods and essential supplies in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Market volatility has continued to engulf Wall Street, and with the 2020 US General Election just a week away, there has been speculation that the lack of economic stimulus will submerge the market further. Talks over a second stimulus relief bill between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and President Donald Trump has stalled, with Pelosi citing a commitment to national testing, school funding and unemployment aid.
With an excess of 9 million cases and 232,000 deaths, there is no end in sight and the market slump is projected to continue into 2021 as the economy weathers 10 million newly unemployed, a tumultuous political climate, and a rise in virus cases.