Warren Buffett’s $1.9-Bn Wealth Evoparates as Wells Fargo Tumbles on Scandal

New York: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett suffered huge loss in his net worth as $1.9 billion wiped from his wealth on Tuesday after US bank Wells Fargo fell 3.3 per cent as the fallout in the wake of a scandal. It’s learnt that bank employees had opened more than 2 million accounts without clients’ approval.

Buffett’s investment company Berkshire Hathaway is the biggest shareholder in Wells Fargo. Bershire Hathaway’s shares fell two per cent. This impacted the 86-year-old’s fortune to drop more than anyone else’s on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Warrent Buffett is the world’s fourth richest person with a net worth of $65.8 billion. The business magnate is revered by investors as the ‘Sage of Omaha.’

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Tuesday’s decline came amid a global equity sell-off that has wiped out $93 billion from the world’s 400 biggest fortunes since Friday. The Sage of Omaha shed $37.3 billion on Tuesday alone as stocks and bonds both slumped. Oil sank after the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) prediction that a glut will extend into next year.

Amancio Ortega, the world’s second-richest person and the founder of apparel chain Zara’s Spanish parent company Inditex suffered a drop of $3.3 billion since the sell-off began. Ortega leads the 400 richest people with according to the index. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the world’s richest person with $87.3 billion, has lost $2.4 billion over the past three trading sessions.

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, the world’s third-richest person with $66.2 billion, has shed $1.9 billion. Buffett, whose fortune is mostly in Berkshire shares, has lost $1.6 billion in the sell-off of the past days overall.

With Wells Fargo tumbling in the market, JPMorgan Chase overtook it as the world’s most valuable bank. Wells Fargo fell 5.9 per cent since Thursday, when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced fines stemming from the fake accounts.