Billionaires "buy the dip" in their own company stocks amid market panic

After Trump announced the most severe U.S. tariff policy of the century, several billionaires with a total net worth of about $100 billion chose to increase their holdings in their own company stocks, betting on a market rebound in advance.

On April 10, media reports indicated that after Trump announced the tariff policy, super-rich individuals seemed to see investment opportunities and bought back their own stocks against the market trend, including:

• The Persson family behind Swedish clothing giant H&M continuously increased their holdings in H&M stocks during the market impact of Trump's tariff policy, investing a total of about 776 million Swedish Krona (approximately $78 million).
• The founding billionaire family of Lundin Mining Corp. also invested about CAD 22.7 million (USD 16 million) on April 3 to increase their shares in the Vancouver mining company.
• Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim began buying shares of U.S. refiner PBF Energy Inc. on the same day energy prices plummeted, totaling $2.3 million.
• Ivan Glasenberg, the former CEO and largest shareholder of Swiss Glencore Plc, increased his company shares for the first time in ten years after the stock price plummeted.

The stock prices of the aforementioned companies fell after Trump announced the tariff policy on April 2, but PBF Energy and Lundin Mining have significantly risen from their price lows.

It is noteworthy that well-known figures on Wall Street, including investment manager Bill Ackman and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, had previously warned of the increasing risks, while legendary investor Bill Gross warned on April 4 that market turbulence might continue. Gross stated on social media platform X: "Still waiting for this falling leveraged knife to hit the bottom; investment opportunities may arise next week."

Wealth Erosion and Counter-Trend Layout

The investment firms of Slim, Lundin, and the Persson family are the major shareholders of PBF, Lundin Mining, and H&M, respectively. Their investment behavior highlights that these billionaires tend to allocate assets in fields they are familiar with.

During the pandemic, Slim and his family bought a large number of PBF Energy shares after the stock price plummeted. As global gasoline demand eventually rebounded, the company's stock price skyrocketed by 600%, greatly benefiting the Slim family.

Although super-rich individuals are actively seeking investment opportunities today, they have not been spared from the recent market turbulence.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the world's 500 richest individuals experienced a wealth erosion of about $536 billion within two days after the tariff announcement, marking the largest two-day loss in the index's history.

Even close associates of Trump have not been immune. Musk's wealth has shrunk by more than $100 billion this year, falling below $300 billion for the first time this week, the lowest since last November.

At the same time, media reports indicate that clients of top private banks in Asia chose to reduce rather than increase stock investments after market turbulence triggered a series of margin calls