The world’s 400 richest people lost $70.2 billion from their collective net worth this week amid a global selloff that sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its biggest weekly drop in two years.

Hedge fund billionaires suffered some of the biggest losses. John Paulson, founder of New York-based Paulson & Co., dropped $1.5 billion after his funds declined as much as 11 percent last month. The 58-year-old controls more than 50 percent of the company’s assets under management, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Some hedge funds have made long bets on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred with the idea that some of the profits captured by the government from the bailout might rightfully come back to shareholders,” Walter ‘Bucky’ Hellwig, Senior Vice President of BB&T Wealth Management, said in a phone interview. “Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac preferred dropped precipitously, so long positions there got slammed.”

Global equities have lost $3.5 trillion in value since reaching a record last month. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi clashed with Germany’s finance minister yesterday over the steps needed to revive growth in the euro area, while Federal Reserve officials have said the U.S. economy may be at risk from a global slowdown.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated 4 percent, its worst week since May 2012, while the S&P 500 closed at 1906.13, down 3.1 percent.

Tesla Skids

Elon Musk lost $755 million after his Tesla Motors Inc. fell the most in three weeks yesterday after unveiling an all- wheel drive Model S and driver-assisting tools.

The carmaker’s 43-year-old chief executive officer created a buzz around the event by tweeting about it on Oct. 1. The debut of the newest Tesla electric car went “largely as expected,” and that could potentially “take some wind out of the sails” of more bullish investors, Bank of America wrote.

Tesla’s Model S electric car will be offered with all-wheel drive capability and safety features including driver-assisting tools intended to prevent crashes, such as lane-keep assist and cruise control that adjusts to the speed of traffic.

Musk is the 98th-richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He has a net worth of $11.2 billion.

‘Huge Mistake’

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chairman Warren Buffett, 84, said last week that his investment in struggling U.K. supermarket business Tesco Plc was a “huge mistake.” Hedge funds including Lansdowne Partners LP and Lone Pine Capital LLC began betting against chains including Tesco amid speculation the worst isn’t over for the industry.

Berkshire controls about 4 percent of the company, making it the fourth-biggest shareholder. Buffett has a $67 billion fortune and is the world’s third-richest person, according to the Bloomberg ranking.

Bill Gates remains the world’s richest person with a net worth of $81.8 billion. The 58-year-old Microsoft Corp. co- founder dropped $2.8 billion this week as the Redmond, Washington-based software maker tumbled 4.5 percent.