Two of the world’s richest men lost nearly €81.6 billion in the first six months of the year as the valuation of their companies tumbled, writes Jessica Clark.

Tesla boss Elon Musk managed to cling on to his position as the wealthiest person in the world with a fortune of €312.6bn despite taking a €56bn hit since January.

His electric car firm’s share price slumped nearly 16 per cent in the six months to the end of June.

Meanwhile, Bernard Arnault, the boss of Louis Vuitton and Dior parent company LVMH, saw his fortune shrink by €23.3bn. LVMH has seen its share price tumble more than 29 per cent this year.

A slowdown in the sale of luxury goods has left the French tycoon with €127.1bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

But Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg boosted his fortune by €43.2bn in the first six months of the year, taking his wealth to €220.5bn. And Amazon boss Jeff Bezos is worth €4.7bn more than at the start of the year, taking his fortune to €207.6bn.

Photo: Elon Musk. (Pic: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)