The 5 biggest market losers in 2022: Elon Musk and Sam Bankman-Fried lead turbulent year

• Elon Musk saw a massive chunk of his wealth disappear in 2022, while Sam Bankman-Fried faces federal fraud charges.
• But other sectors of the market suffered major setbacks amid a turbulent year, such as housing.

Elon Musk saw a massive chunk of his wealth vanish in 2022, while Sam Bankman-Fried faces federal fraud charges related to the collapse of FTX.

But other sectors of the market suffered major setbacks amid a turbulent macro environment that included red-hot inflation, 425 basis points in Fed rate hikes, and Russia's war on Ukraine.

Here's a list of the five biggest market losers in 2022.

1. Elon Musk

The Tesla CEO and self-proclaimed "chief twit" has seen more than $130 billion disappear from his net worth in 2022 as shares of his EV company tumbled nearly 70%.

Since Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in late October, shares of Tesla have dropped more than 50% compared to just a 3% decline for the Nasdaq. Wedbush even said he's "asleep at the wheel."

Other factors hurting Tesla stock include Musk's sales of his shares to fund the Twitter buy, fears of a recession, and the Fed's aggressive campaign to hike interest rates. Weaker demand has also forced Tesla to extend a slowdown at its China factory through January.

2. Sam Bankman-Fried and the collapse of cryptos

Even before FTX's crash, crypto was already having a bad year. Celsius and Three Arrows Capital filed for bankruptcy in the spring as Fed rate hikes slammed risk assets and key stablecoins lost their 1-for-1 peg to the dollar. The total crypto market cap fell below $1 trillion after peaking above $3 trillion in late 2021.

Then came FTX.

The crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy last month, following a liquidity crisis and reports that FTX transferred billions in client funds to Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research.

Bankman-Fried was arrested earlier this month and faces federal fraud charges, while nearly all his wealth has been wiped out from a high of $16 billion.

3. Housing

Although home prices have yet to stage a full-scale downturn, other indicators pointed to a major retreat. In October, mortgage applications hit a 25-year low as borrowing costs surged. They have since recovered a bit as the 30-year fixed rate fell back below 7%.

Elsewhere, the National Association of Home Builders sentiment index has fallen for 12 straight months to hit the lowest since 2012, excluding the COVID pandemic. The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales have fallen for 10 consecutive months, the longest slump since 1999. And Redfin said home sales slumped 35% in November, the largest decline in its records that date back to 2012.

4. Initial Public Offerings, SPACs

Historically, initial public offerings proliferate when investors are keen on growth stocks. But the opposite occurred this year as they were some of the worst performers in 2022. As a result, the number of IPOs plunged 83% from a year earlier to 178.

That coincided with the collapse of a once-hot corner of the IPO market: special purpose acquisition companies. SPAC IPOs are down 86% this year, according to SPAC Analytics. SPAC creators have lost more than $1.1 billion on liquidations this year, data provider SPAC Research says. And an ETF tracking SPAC IPOs has lost over 70% in 2022.

5. Tech stocks

Tech darlings that were central in the explosion of growth stocks from the pandemic into 2021 finally gave a name to their pain this year: the Federal Reserve.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq has dropped 35% this year. In addition to Tesla's plunge, other heavy hitters have suffered big time. Meta has crashed 66%. Apple and Amazon shed 26% and 49%, respectively. Netflix is down more than 50%.