Only one of world’s top 500 billionaires didn’t lose money and profited from Trump’s tariffs

Just one of the world's richest people profited from President Trump's new trade tariffs.

In case you missed it, President Donald Trump finally announced his long-awaited 'Liberation Day' tariffs, in a move that he claims puts American taxpayers in a better position after being 'ripped off for more than 50 years'.

The 78-year-old explained that the nation would regain 'economic independence' through the move, even though the US leader has put tariffs on uninhabited islands with penguins.

Luckily, the UK has not been hit as hard as others such as China, but regardless, nobody is happy with the move.

It has effectively started a trade war, with a few countries now considering imposing tariffs on the US.

Every country on the list has been hit with tariffs of at least 10 percent, and for those who may have forgotten, a tariff is a type of tax paid by an importer on things brought in from other countries.

Essentially, if someone in the US wanted something from Europe, they'd have to pay an extra amount to the government, in the region of 20 percent of the full price in this scenario.

This will likely result in the increased price of products from overseas, as those exporting them would want to cover their costs.

Trump's main goal was to ensure that 'jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country' by focusing on domestic goods and services.

While you'd think it'd just be everyday people like you and me that got the brunt of these tariffs, it turns out that some of the world's most powerful people have suffered, too.

This is due to the global stock markets being plagues by extreme volatility, as Wall Street continues to go in and out of the red, with Trump's ongoing world trade war causing economic damage.

Trump has since compared the tariffs to 'medicine', as the benchmark S&P on Wall Street dropped by an eye-watering 4.1 percent when markets opened this morning (7 April), according to The Guardian.

A new graphic posted by NextA TV has revealed that 499 of the world's 500 richest billionaires have seen losses in their net worth as a result - with the one exception being Warren Buffet.

Warren Buffett is the only one among the world’s 500 richest people who didn’t lose money due to Trump’s tariffs — on the contrary, he profited.

That’s because the 94-year-old American magnate began selling off shares of U.S. companies immediately after Trump took office,… pic.twitter.com/imqHchuEMI

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 7, 2025

This is because the American investor sold off shares of his US companies when Trump took office, with the 94-year-old actually profiting as a result.

The graphic further shows that while the likes of Elon Musk were $130 billion out of pocket, Buffett made $12.7 billion in profits.

Buffett actually sold $134 billion (£105.2 billion) in equities in 2024 and currently has about $334 billion (£262.4 billion) in cash.

The philanthropist isn't currently looking to make any big changes, as an analyst explained to Fortune that Buffett was supposedly expecting this.

Armando Gonzalez, founder of Bigdata.com, explained: “Buffett’s actions over the past year have been a textbook example of positioning for turbulence.”

Buffett's recent comments, which raised concerns of Trump's tariffs prior to their announcement, also showed that he was ready.

“History shows when Buffett turns net seller, he often anticipates a period of subpar market performance,” the expert said, adding: “And once again, the Oracle of Omaha seems to have been ahead of the curve.”

Gonzalez highlighted: “He has no interest in timing the market’s bottom, nor does he chase short-term rebounds,

“Instead, he waits for moments when fear drives prices to levels where the risk-reward equation tilts decisively in his favour.”