[Text/Observer Network Wang Yi] The big shots of Silicon Valley once "opened their wallets" for President Trump's campaign and inauguration, queued up to visit Mar-a-Lago to pay respects, attended his inauguration, and announced investments in the U.S. to curry favor... However, in the first three months of his presidency, Trump not only failed to repay the generosity of these tech tycoons in any way, but his tariff policies, immigration policies, and funding cuts have instead hit their wallets hard.

1.8 trillion dollars evaporated, the tech industry faces a "doomsday".

According to CNN on April 9, since the beginning of this year, the combined market value of companies led by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Alphabet (Google parent company) CEO Sundar Pichai, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has dropped nearly 1.8 trillion dollars. Even after Trump announced a suspension of "reciprocal tariffs" for most countries on April 9, the stock market rebounded slightly. As a result, the personal wealth of these company leaders also decreased.

The report stated that it can almost certainly be assumed that these high-ranking figures in the tech world hoped to gain some business benefits by riding on Trump's coattails, such as reducing regulation or easing antitrust pressure. Trump has always been eager to expand the influence of the tech industry in the U.S., consolidating America's leading position in the field of artificial intelligence.

From January 2 to April 9, the cumulative valuation of Tesla, Meta, Amazon, Apple, and Google fell by 1.8 trillion dollars. CNN chart.

But what the tech executives received in return was that The New York Times pointed out on April 8 that Trump drastically cut federal funding for emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing; his immigration restrictions measures raised concerns about his potential to cut off the U.S.'s channels for attracting tech talent; his recent announcement of comprehensive tariffs squeezed Apple's iPhone supply chain and significantly increased the cost of supercomputers used for artificial intelligence by Amazon, Meta, Google, and Microsoft.

CNN analysis indicated that the losses of major American tech companies show that Trump's uncertain tariff plans have presented a series of new challenges for Silicon Valley. His tariff plans mainly target Asia's supply chains, while tech companies procure components and assemble products in Asia. Even though Trump suspended "reciprocal tariffs" for many U.S. trading partners for 90 days, the tariffs on China remain, and have been raised to 125%.

Moreover, tariffs not only directly challenge tech giants but also, if consumers and advertisers tighten their wallets, the resulting economic ripple effects may have negative impacts.

A report released by UBS Group on April 6 showed that long-term "reciprocal tariffs" and the resulting economic uncertainty could reduce tech company profits by as much as 25%. This will mark the end of the relatively stable profits and soaring stock prices that large tech companies have enjoyed in recent years in artificial intelligence.

Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, described Trump's tariff policy as the "doomsday" for the tech industry on April 7, calling it "extremely difficult" for the investment environment in the tech sector, the highest level he has seen in 25 years of observing tech stocks.

Musk suffered the heaviest losses, with his net worth decreasing by nearly one-third.

"Musk has experienced the most severe losses," CNN reported. This global richest man donated at least $29 million to support Trump's re-election, but his net worth, which exceeded $400 billion at the beginning of the year, has decreased by nearly one-third, plummeting to $143 billion. This is mainly due to the sharp decline in Tesla's stock price, dragged down by Musk's controversial work in the government, increasingly fierce competition from peers, and the latest tariff threats.

As of the close on April 9, Tesla's stock price had fallen by 28% since the beginning of the year, wiping out $376.6 billion in market value, virtually erasing all gains made by the company after the U.S. election last year. Musk has stated that tariffs could have a "significant" impact on Tesla.

Musk and Pichai attend Trump's inauguration. Video screenshot.

As one of the first CEOs of major companies to commit to donating $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund, Zuckerberg met with him multiple times before and after Trump's inauguration to discuss policies, and made several adjustments beneficial to Trump for his business. But even so, the Trump administration stated that it would continue to take an active regulatory stance to curb the power of large tech companies, and would begin a landmark antitrust trial from next Monday (April 14), aiming to break up Meta.

Since the beginning of 2025, Zuckerberg's net worth has decreased by $26.5 billion. Meta's stock price has fallen nearly 2.25% this year, dragging down the company's valuation by $35.8 billion.

Bezos celebrated Trump's victory with a "remarkable political comeback" last November and donated $1 million to his inauguration fund, but since the beginning of this year, Bezos' net worth has decreased by $47.2 billion, and Amazon's stock price has fallen by 13%, with total valuation dropping by $316.8 billion.

Google also donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund, and its parent company CEO Pichai joined the ranks of CEOs visiting Mar-a-Lago in the weeks following the election. From the beginning of this year to April 9, Google's stock price has fallen by 16.2%, with valuation decreasing by $386.7 billion.

Timm Cook, who was reported by U.S. media to have visited Mar-a-Lago after the election, personally donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund in January. In February, Apple also promised to invest over $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. CNN called this a political victory for Trump, although some of these plans may have been formulated before he took office, but the president attributed this move to himself, saying it "showed confidence in what we are doing."

However, The New York Times estimated that Apple may be one of the companies hardest hit by Trump's tariffs, with 90% of its iPhones sold globally produced in China. The company's stock price has fallen by 18.5% since the beginning of the year, wiping out $684 billion in market value.

In a recent report, analysts from Moody's, an international credit rating agency, wrote, "Although it is difficult to estimate the impact, we believe no sub-sector of technology can emerge unscathed."

And the broader impact of the tariff ripple effects is that both the rich and the poor in the U.S. will see their wallets shrink. Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, said, "These tariffs will raise consumer prices, force our trade partners to retaliate, and Americans will become poorer because of these tariffs."

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