World's richest property tycoons hit hard following Brexit

The world’s wealthiest people have seen their fortunes take a major hit by the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.

Gripped by uncertainty in the face of Brexit, global markets have nosedived since the outcome of the referendum, with  many of the world’s richest people seeing their wealth decline by as much as $6bn (£4.5bn).

In total, the world's 400 wealthiest people, including a number of property tycoons, lost US$196.2bn (£147.5bn) in the two days after Brexit, according to the Bloomberg Billonaires Index.

The UK’s richest man, Gerald Grosvenor who is the sixth Duke of Westminster and controls London-based property company Grosvenor Group, saw his net worth drop 7% to $12.8bn (£9.7bn), while Hong Kong business tycoon, Li Ka-shing, who chairs CK Hutchison, which owns property assets and mobile phone networkers across Asia and Europe, lost 4% of his wealth.

Billionaires George Schaeffler of Germany, Bernard Arnault of France who owns brands like Louis Vuitto and Dom Perignon, and Liliane Bettencourt of France, likewise lost significant fortunes of $1.9bn (£1.4bn), $1.5bn (£1.1bn), and $1.3bn (£980m) respectively, bringing their fortunes down to $18.8bn (£14.2bn) for Schaeffler, $32.7bn (£25bn) for Arnault, and $39.5bn (£30bn) for Bettencourt.

The biggest loser was Amancio Ortega, the founder of clothing giant Zara, who lost $6bn (£4.5bn), with his fortune dropping by almost 8%.

Other notable billionaires hit by Brexit included Carlos Slim Helu, chairman and CEO of Telmex and America Movil, who lost $2.7bn (£2bn), Christo Wiese, down $620m (£460m), Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, down $1bn (£750m), Lakshmi Mittal, down $1.1bn (£830m), Warren Buffett, down US$2.2bn (£1.6bn) and Microsoft’s Bill Gates, down $2.4bn (£1.8bn).