September 3, 2024
When Elon Musk bought Twitter (since renamed “X”) back in 2022, he enlisted the support of fellow billionaires to help finance the deal. I’m not sure what sorts of representations he made to them to part with their hard-earned dinero, but the results of their investment don’t look particularly promising.
According to the Washington Post, the leading investors have been taking a bath as Twitter/X’s value has cratered. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud is at the top (bottom?) of the list; the value of his share in the company has lost $1.4 billion. Jack Dorsey — the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter — lost some $720 million, as did Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Of course, at the stratosphere at which they are located financially, this is probably the equivalent of play money. But a hundred million here and a hundred million there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.
And I thought cryptocurrency was a lousy investment.