Billionaires who built their fortunes rolling out wireless networks when debt cost almost nothing are seeing their wealth crimped by higher borrowing costs and caution among money managers on the outlook for the industry.
Altice founder Patrick Drahi’s wealth has dropped almost 18% to $4.4 billion this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, while Rakuten Group Inc.’s Hiroshi Mikitani’s fortune has shrunk 69% since 2021 after a push into mobile increased the firm’s losses. Charles Ergen has seen his riches shrink nearly 80% in less than three years as Dish Network Corp. tries to transition from pay-TV to wireless services.
