(Bloomberg) — Nine months ago, the father-son duo that runs used-car company Carvana Co. had a combined personal fortune of more than $32 billion.
Ernie Garcia II and Ernie Garcia III have now shed almost 80% of that wealth, one of the biggest and fastest declines of any billionaire family or individual fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The Garcias’ were further hammered Thursday by one of the worst days for the stock market in more than two years, sparked by concerns that the Federal Reserve will struggle to contain rising inflation. Phoenix-based Carvana’s losses exceeded those of the broader market, falling 18% and leaving the stock down 87% from its August peak.
The elder Garcia was a prolific seller of stock during the pandemic as Carvana’s shares soared. Starting in late October 2020 he sold shares almost every day for about 10 months, disposing of more than $3.5 billion worth — or more than a fifth of his stake — as Carvana shares reached a high of $376.83. The stock closed Thursday at $48.92.
The Garcias are emblematic of the pandemic economy, as pent-up savings spurred interest in car ownership and ultra-low rates boosted financing for purchases. Those forces are fast losing steam. Tech and online consumer firms that soared in value only months ago have been clobbered.
Those dragged down include Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management, which has lost $16 billion this year, and CAS Investment Partners, the hedge fund run by Clifford Sosin. It’s bet on Carvana, specifically, has backfired spectacularly.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index fell 5% Thursday, its biggest one-day loss since Jun. 11, 2020. Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, lost more than $18 billion, according to the Bloomberg index, leaving him a fortune of $249.2 billion as shares of Tesla Inc. tumbled 8%. Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos saw his net worth fall 7% to $140 billion, while Meta Platforms Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg dropped $5.3 billion to $76.6 billion.
The world’s 500 richest people lost a collective $157 billion of wealth, the seventh-largest on record.
The only person among the world’s 15 richest to add to his fortune Thursday was India’s Gautam Adani, whose empire includes ports, mines and green energy.
(Adds share sales in fourth paragraph.)
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