BILLIONS of dollars have been wiped off the fortunes of top American billionaires after Donald Trump began his blistering global trade war.

The world’s 500 richest people lost a whopping $536bn in the first two days of Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs – with Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg taking the biggest hits.

Many of the world’s top billionaires who lined up together in a rare spectacle for Trump’s inauguration have seen their wealth shrink.

This includes the world’s richest man and Trump’s top advisor Elon Musk, who has lost a staggering $31billion after the president announced his sweeping tariffs.

Tesla shares fell by almost 5% on Wall Street yesterday.

And as Tesla faced severe backlash across the US and Europe, Musk’s estimated wealth tanked by a whopping $130billion so far this year.

However, he still sits at the top of the billionaires list as the world’s richest person with a total net worth of $302billion.

Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg suffered the second biggest loss after his net worth was slashed by a whopping $27billion.

Meta stocks plunged over 14% in the two days of trading last week but rose by 1% on Monday.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who is set to marry bombshell supermodel  Lauren Sánchez in Venice this summer, also saw his fortune tank by $23.5bilion.

Europe’s richest man and owner of luxury goods empire LVMH Bernard Arnault also lost $6bn on Thursday and more than $5bn on Friday as Trump’s tariffs hit Asian markets – where a lot of garments are manufactured.

Arnault, who was also present at Trump’s inauguration along with his wife, son and daughter, said that he feels “optimistic” about Trump’s return.

He said: “I have just returned from the US, and I have witnessed the winds of optimism in that country. Coming back to France is a bit like taking a cold shower.”

Even stock market legend Warren Buffet was unable to escape Trump’s blistering tariffs.

He lost $2.57billion in the first two days of the stock market meltdown and a total of $10.7billion so far this year.

However, he also saw a total of $12.7billion added to his net worth, which means he still managed to be profitable so far by $2billion.

Buffet is the sixth richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg.

More than $8.5trillion has now been wiped off international stock markets since Trump unleashed his so-called “Liberation Day”.

London and Wall Street suffered their biggest slide since the pandemic began.

The unfazed US President threatened to slap another 50 per cent of tariffs on China after Beijing fired back with their own 34 per cent retaliatory levies.

The move — on top of the eye-watering 54 per cent import taxes sprung on China last week — could plunge trade between the rival superpowers into the deep freeze, sparking a major global recession.

The market turmoil was ranked worse than the advent of World War Two, 9/11 and the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trump coins a brand new word

DONALD Trump has coined a brand new word called “PANICAN” to refer to people who he thinks are “weak and stupid” and get panicked easily.

Posting on Truth Social, Trump told Americans not to be a “PANICAN” amid his tariff war.

He said: “The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!).

“Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”

Since Trump posted the term on social media, it has gone viral and received hilarious reactions from users.

Reacting to the new word, a user wrote on X: “Oh phew. When I heard Trump created a new word, I thought that meant we were invading Panama and Canada today.” 

While another user said: “Trump switches parties, becomes Panican.” 

TAKING A HIT

A lot of big companies have taken hits across various global industries.

Typically safe financial institutions have been in free-fall. Barclays shares fell by up to 9 per cent yesterday, while America’s JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs tanked.

Banks with an exposure to Asia, such as HSBC and Standard Chartered, were even more badly hit.

Shares in the world’s biggest tech firms, including Apple, Amazon, Nvidia and Meta, all plunged.

These giants have trillion-dollar market values, so the heavy share falls have wiped off hundreds of billions of dollars.

Apple lost $300billion on Thursday as it relies on tariff-hit Asian manufacturers for its tech devices.

Nike, Adidas, Puma and JD Sports suffered heavy falls. Nike had $12billion wiped off its value on Thursday.

These firms have been hit hard as they make the bulk of their goods in Vietnam, China and Thailand — all facing the highest US import rates.

Gap, H&M and Levi’s also suffered heavy falls due to the double whammy of Asian manufacturing and a huge US market.

Britain’s biggest Rolex seller — Watches of Switzerland — took a heavy beating as it has a big market in the US and will face tariffs on watch imports from Europe.

Shares in Burberry plunged, and the European luxury brand Richemont also saw big falls.

Americans are being urged to rush to the shops to pick up some essential items before Trump’s sweeping global tariffs kick in.

US citizens will likely have to bear the brunt of their president’s “brutal” tariff rollout, which could leave them paying more for items including shoes, furniture, coffee and even cars.