Billionaires' biggest business blunders ever
Not everything they touch turns to gold

Richard Branson's cola fail

Richard Branson's cola fail

Richard Branson's cola fail

Branson's cola captured just 0.5% of the American market and had to cease US operations in 2001. The brand initially survived in the UK but was pulled from supermarket shelves in 2009 due to its waning popularity. Production halted in 2012 and the drink, a major flop, was consigned to history.
Read more on Branson's incredible investments that did work: From records to rockets: how Richard Branson made his billions
JK Rowling's regrettable purchase

JK Rowling's regrettable purchase

JK Rowling's regrettable purchase

Rowling clearly had a drastic change of heart because just eight months after she bought it, the yacht was put up for sale at the vastly reduced price of $19.2 million (£14.7m) – $7.8 million (£6m) less than she paid.
Perhaps Rowling should've bought one of these: Billionaire boats to blow your mind and your wallet
Jeff Bezos' phone fiasco

Jeff Bezos' phone fiasco

Jeff Bezos' phone fiasco

Carl Icahn's Blockbuster blunder

Carl Icahn's Blockbuster blunder

Carl Icahn's Blockbuster blunder

Oprah Winfrey's launch flop

Oprah Winfrey's launch flop

Oprah Winfrey's launch flop

The ratings tumble is estimated to have cost the network $330 million (£252m). Fortunately, Winfrey has since managed to turn it all around, partly thanks to Tyler Perry, and her net worth is topping an impressive $2.8 billion (£2.1bn) at the current time.
Rupert Murdoch's MySpace misfire

Rupert Murdoch's MySpace misfire

Rupert Murdoch's MySpace misfire

Carlos Slim's CompUSA saga

Carlos Slim's CompUSA saga

Carlos Slim's CompUSA saga

George Soros' Russia gamble

George Soros' Russia gamble

George Soros' Russia gamble

Elon Musk's expensive tweet

Elon Musk's expensive tweet

Elon Musk's expensive tweet

In fact, Tesla has lost over $10 billion (£7.7bn) in market cap since August, impacting on its CEO's net worth, which stands at $20.8 billion (£15.9bn). Adding to the tech tycoon's problems, Musk is now under investigation by the US Department of Justice over the tweet, which may have broken federal law.
Read more on the billionaire maverick: Elon Musk's incredible success story
Warren Buffett's wasted opportunity

Warren Buffett's wasted opportunity

Warren Buffett's wasted opportunity

Incredibly, Buffett believes that if he'd bought an up-and-coming insurance business instead, his holding company would be worth twice as much as it is now, a figure than runs into the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Not put off by their past mistakes, read about: Billionaires' extraordinary pet projects to transform the world
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