US entrepreneur Elon Musk has broken the world record for the largest loss of personal fortune in history.

From November 2021 to December 2022 he lost around $165billion (£135billion), according to Guinness World Records.

The figures are based on data from publisher Forbes, but Guinness said other sources suggested Mr Musk's losses could have been higher.

It follows a fall in value of shares in Mr Musk's electric car firm Tesla after he bought Twitter last year.

The BBC says his £36billion takeover of the social-media company has sparked concerns among investors that Mr Musk is no longer giving Tesla enough attention.

Mr Musk's losses surpass the previous record of $58.6billion suffered by Japanese tech investor Masayoshi Son in 2000.

Lost No.1 spot

In December, the Tesla boss lost his position as richest person in the world to Bernard Arnault, chief executive of French luxury goods company LVMH.

The value of Tesla shares dropped around 65% in 2022, in part because of Tesla's performance. The firm delivered just 1.3million vehicles during the year, falling short of Wall Street expectations.

However, Mr Musk's takeover of Twitter - where he has sparked controversy by firing large numbers of staff and changing content-moderation policies - is behind most of the share slump.

Many Tesla investors believe he should be focusing on the electric-vehicle company as it faces falling demand amid recession fears, rising competition and Covid-linked production challenges.

"Long-term fundamentals (at Tesla) are extremely strong. Short-term market madness is unpredictable," Mr Musk tweeted after the stock markets closed for the year in December 2022.

Mr Musk is now worth about $178billion, according to Forbes, while Mr Arnault has an estimated value of $188billion.

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