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The collapse of the Indian stock market reportedly wiped out investors’ wealth worth Rs 20.16 lakh crore in early trade.

Indian shares continued to fall sharply on Monday, with the Sensex and Nifty crashing about 5 per cent in early trade, mirroring a sharp fall in global equities.

Sensex, a pack of India’s top 30 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, lost 3,939.68 points or 5.22 per cent to 71,425.01, while Nifty, the National Stock Exchange index, dropped 1,160.8 points or 5.06 per cent to 21,743.65. 

The collapse reportedly wiped out investors’ wealth worth Rs 20.16 lakh crore in early trade.

Other Asian markets also slumped, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropping nearly 11 per cent, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 plunging nearly 7 per cent, Shanghai SSE Composite index tumbling over 6 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi index declining 5 per cent.

Last week, the Sensex sank 2,050.23 points or 2.64 per cent, while the Nifty dropped 614.8 points or 2.61 per cent.

Why Indian Stock Market Is Down Today

The Indian stock market crashed as US President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes and retaliation from China fuelled investors’ jitters amid fears that a full-blown trade war will impact economic growth across the world.

President Trump has sparked a market meltdown after he unveiled sweeping tariffs against US trading partners last week. China also hit back, saying it would impose retaliatory levies of 34 percent on all US goods from April 10. 

The tit-for-tat moves have now raised concerns of a prolonged trade war.

“Reciprocal tariffs, even if temporary, highlight the increased uncertainty for companies and investors,” Reuters quoted Kotak Institutional Equities analyst Sanjeev Prasad as saying.

“The performance of Indian markets in the next few weeks will depend on whether there is a reconciliation or retaliation in the tariff situation and behaviour of India’s retail and domestic institutional investors,” he said.

VK Vijayakumar, the Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said that the markets globally are going through “heightened volatility caused by extreme uncertainty”. 

“No one has a clue about how this turbulence caused by Trump’s tariffs will evolve. Wait and watch would be the best strategy in this turbulent phase of the market,” he was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.

Warren Buffet was the only billionaire among the 10 richest persons in the world to post gains while Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg saw their wealth take major blows.

As global markets tanked with a $5 trillion wipeout following US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on 184 countries, ace investor Warren Buffett came out unscathed and richer. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Buffet was the only billionaire among the 10 richest persons in the world to post gains while Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg saw their wealth take major blows.

Since Trump’s tariff bombshell on Wednesday, global stocks have nosedived, dragging the US markets to their lowest levels since March 2020. It marked the fourth-worst single-day wealth wipeout in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index’s 13-year history, with the top 500 richest people losing a combined $536 billion. 

Yet Buffett, who leads Berkshire Hathaway, has not only dodged the carnage but also profited from it. He gained $12.7 billion, bringing his net worth to $155 billion – tying with Bill Gates.

So, what is Warren Buffett’s gameplan? In 2024, he sold $134 billion in stocks and shifted to a record $334 billion cash pile, mostly in short-term US Treasury bills. This shielded Berkshire when markets crashed.

One of his boldest moves was cutting Berkshire’s Apple stake by two-thirds before the stock dropped 28 per cent, hurt by its China exposure amid Trump’s tariffs. He also trimmed positions in Bank of America and Citigroup, both down over 20 per cent this year.

In his February shareholder letter, Buffett hinted at what was coming: “We were aided by a predictable large gain in investment income,” he wrote, as per Fortune, saying the rising yields on T-bills were a safer alternative to overpriced equities.

Now, Berkshire Hathaway’s shares are up 9 per cent year-to-date despite Trump’s tariff-led trade war raising recession fears and triggering one of the worst days for global wealth since the pandemic era. The company’s core investments are in railroads, energy, and insurance.

Amid the economic upheaval, reports suggested that Buffett endorsed Trump’s tariff policies. Berkshire Hathaway refuted these claims, saying all such reports were false, as per Reuters. Mr Buffett said he had not made any comments regarding the tariffs and would refrain from doing so until Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting on May 3.

From Elon Musk to Miriam Adelson, the top 10 billionaire backers of Trump lost over $10 billion on Thursday alone, as stocks nosedived due to tariffs.

Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement triggered a market crash – and his biggest campaign donors paid the price. 

From Elon Musk to Miriam Adelson, the top 10 billionaire backers of Trump collectively lost more than $10 billion on Thursday alone, as stocks nosedived following what Trump called “Liberation Day.” Ironically, the US president himself came out nearly unscathed. While his social media firm dipped less than 2 per cent, major business figures tied to him weren’t as lucky.

The losses came primarily from exposure to international markets – particularly China and other Asian economies targeted by the tariffs. Trump’s billionaire donors have heavily invested in sectors sensitive to global supply chains, and Thursday’s 5 per cent market crash hit them where it hurt most.

Who Lost What?

1. Elon Musk

• Pro-Trump donations: $359 million
• Net worth: $378 billion
• One-day loss: $8.7 billion

Tesla fell 5 per cent as fears mounted over parts sourced globally. Musk’s companies remain heavily intertwined with global manufacturing hubs.

2. Miriam Adelson and Family

• Pro-Trump donations: $111 million
• Net worth: $28.8 billion
• One-day loss: $1 billion

Las Vegas Sands-Adelson’s core business has major casinos in Macao and Singapore. Its shares plunged 7 per cent as the Asia-facing business felt the tariff shockwave.

3. Mark Zuckerberg

• Net worth: $179 billion
• Loss over two days: $27 billion

Meta stock slumped nearly 14 per cent in two days.

4. Jeff Bezos

• Net worth: $193 billion
• Two-day loss: $23.5 billion

Amazon, deeply tied to global sellers (especially from China), has seen $45 billion erased from Bezos’ fortune this year alone.

5. Diane Hendricks

• Pro-Trump donations: $26 million
• Net worth: $21.9 billion
• One-day loss: $650 million

Hendricks’ company, ABC Supply, depends on global vendors. Price hikes and lower sales are likely, with markets reacting accordingly.

6. Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein

• Pro-Trump donations: $93 million
• Net worth: $11.8 billion
• One-day loss: $480 million

 Their packaging company, Uline, tied to global supply chains, took a direct hit.

7. Kelcy Warren

• Pro-Trump donations: $13 million
• Net worth: $7.2 billion
• One-day loss: $360 million

Energy Transfer shares fell 6 per cent as the pipeline sector braced for costlier steel and raw material imports.

8. Howard Lutnick and Family

• Pro-Trump donations: $11 million
• Net worth: $3.1 billion
• One-day loss: $270 million

His finance and real estate ventures, including BGC Group and Cantor Fitzgerald, saw sharp declines amid economic uncertainty.

9. Anthony Pratt

• Pro-Trump donations: $10 million
• Net worth: $8 billion
• One-day loss: $270 million

Pratt Industries, heavily tied to global packaging demand, could suffer as US exports face retaliation.

10. Linda McMahon

• Pro-Trump donations: $20 million
• Net worth: $3.1 billion
• One-day loss: $65 million

 Her entertainment firm TKO Group, parent of WWE and UFC, dropped 5 per cent.

11. Isaac and Laura Perlmutter

• Pro-Trump donations: $25 million
• Net worth: $4.7 billion

Having exited Disney recently, their remaining investments tied to the S&P 500 likely suffered a $240 million dip.

12. Paul Singer

• Pro-Trump donations: $8 million
• Net worth: $6.2 billion

The hedge fund billionaire, once critical of Trump’s tariff approach, may now be feeling the pinch through private investments.

On April 8, Manthan called Vedant to a nearby ‘paan’ shop, where they both had soft drinks.

A man has been arrested for allegedly poisoning and killing his 18-year-old friend and neighbour in Maharashtra’s Nagpur city out of jealousy over his wealthy background, police said on Tuesday.

The police on Monday arrested Mithlesh alias Manthan Rajendra Chakole (19), a resident of Nilkanth Nagar in Hudkeshwar, for the death of Vedant alias Vijay Kalidas Khandate, who lived in the same neighbourhood, an official said.

He said while the victim came from a wealthy background and his family had recently built a two-storey house with modern amenities, the accused lived in a smaller home and was jealous of him.

On April 8, Manthan called Vedant to a nearby ‘paan’ shop, where they both had soft drinks. The accused allegedly spiked the Vedant’s drink with a cockroach-repellent gel, the official said.

He said the victim later returned home and complained of dizziness, and his condition quickly worsened. He was rushed to a hospital in Sakkardara, where doctors suspected that he was poisoned and began treatment.

Vedant didn’t regain consciousness and passed away on April 12, he said.

The official said the police initially registered a case of accidental death, but the medical report showed he had poison in his body, and doctors said it was unlikely he had consumed such a substance knowingly.

On tracing Vedant’s final movements and phone calls, the police discovered that his last phone call was to the accused, who admitted that they had met at a ‘paan’ shop and had soft drinks, he said.

Manthan was taken into custody on suspicion, and during interrogation, he confessed to having poisoned the victim out of jealousy, the official said.

He said the accused claimed that he had only planned to make the victim sick to teach him a lesson and did not intend to kill him.

The official said the accused, during the interrogation, also claimed that he panicked when Vedant’s condition became serious, and wrote a fake ransom note and left it on a car belonging to the victim’s father to mislead the police and make the incident appear like a case of kidnapping or extortion attempt

The annual tally of the country’s 350 wealthiest individuals and families was topped for the fourth consecutive year by the Indian-origin Hinduja family.

Britain’s King Charles III saw his wealth grow by around GBP 30 million over the past year to hit GBP 640 million in the 2025 ‘Sunday Times Rich List’ released on Friday, with the 76-year-old monarch climbing 20 places to rank 238th alongside former prime minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty.

The annual tally of the country’s 350 wealthiest individuals and families was topped for the fourth consecutive year by the Indian-origin Hinduja family, with an estimated fortune of GBP 35.3 billion, despite taking a hit of GBP 2 billion since May 2024.

Awarding licences to build wind farms has helped the Crown Estate double its profits, increasing the sovereign grant, which funds the royal family’s official activities,” the newspaper notes with reference to Charles’ boosted fortunes.

“We exclude the majority of royal assets from the King’s valuation because they are owned ‘in the right of the Crown’ and are not personal holdings. His Balmoral and Sandringham estates in Scotland and Norfolk, as well as an investment portfolio also inherited from his late mother [Queen Elizabeth II], account for the bulk of his wealth,” it notes.

Meanwhile, Sunak saw a dent in his family fortunes since last year with Murty’s stake in Infosys losing some of its value on the stock market, but the couple’s combined estimated fortunes of GBP 640 million means they improved their rank from last year’s 245th.

“Since leaving Downing Street, Sunak has taken a part-time role at Stanford University and signed up to the lucrative Washington Speakers Bureau,” reads ‘The Sunday Times’ analysis.

“His wife’s stake in Infosys, her father’s Bangalore-based IT firm, paid out GBP 7.5 million of dividends last year but has lost some of its value. The couple have launched a charity to tackle numeracy problems,” it adds.

Besides the Hinduja family, the top 10 of the 2025 ‘Sunday Times Rich List’ sees another set of India-born brothers, David and Simon Reuben, build on their wealth to rise to second place from last year’s third, with a fortune estimated at around GBP 26.87 billion.

At No. 8 is NRI tycoon of Arcelor Mittal steelworks Lakshmi N. Mittal, who holds on to his rank with an estimated GBP 15.44 billion. Vedanta Resources’ industrialist Anil Agarwal with an estimated GBP 7.5 billion is at No. 25.

Other Indian-origin billionaires on the 2025 list include textiles entrepreneur Prakash Lohia at No. 31 with an estimated GBP 6.02 billion; retail majors Mohsin and Zuber Issa at No. 32 with GBP 6 billion; and pharma chiefs Navin and Varsha Engineer at 48 with GBP 3.45 billion. Among the top 100 richest Britons are brothers Simon, Bobby and Robin Arora at No. 69 with GBP 2.57 billion and leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul and family ranked 81st with an estimated wealth of GBP 2 billion.

On the whole, the latest edition of the rich list reveals the sharpest fall in billionaire numbers in its 37-year history – sliding to 156 this year from 165 in 2024.

“This year – the 37th edition – has been one of the toughest to compile due to [US President] Donald Trump’s tariffs and the ensuing stock market turbulence,” said Robert Watts, compiler of the annual rankings for ‘The Sunday Times’.

“It shows the third year in a row that collective wealth has fallen and the biggest drop in the number of UK billionaires in the Rich List history. It is a stark reflection of the state of UK wealth,” he said.

The valuations for this year’s list were carried out between November 2024 and April 2025.

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