Has the bubble burst?... 'Baedalapp' billionaire's assets evaporate by 20 trillion won

As the explosive growth of the food delivery app market during the pandemic has significantly slowed, the assets of 'delivery app billionaires' have also evaporated by more than 20 trillion won.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on the 3rd (local time), the assets of founders of major food delivery app companies in the US and Europe have decreased by up to $15.065 billion (about 20.5 trillion won) since the pandemic. Bloomberg reported this based on tracking the assets of six founders from four food delivery app companies whose valuations surged after the pandemic, including grocery delivery company Instacart, which recently went public on the New York Stock Exchange, as well as DoorDash and Just Eat Takeaway.

According to Bloomberg's analysis, half of the six founders lost their billionaire status (Billionaires: individuals with personal assets exceeding $1 billion) due to the sharp decline in stock prices. Jitse Groen, founder of Europe's Just Eat Takeaway, saw his assets drop the most, from $1.966 billion in October 2020 to $283 million currently, a decrease of 86% ($1.683 billion). Groen recently relinquished his billionaire title due to this asset decline.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

DoorDash, known as the American version of 'Baedal Minjok,' also saw the assets of its three founders sharply decline as its stock price fell. Bloomberg noted, "Due to DoorDash's stock price drop, Andy Fang's assets plummeted to $1.02 billion, while Stanley Tang and Tony Xu's assets shrank to $1.248 billion and $1.294 billion respectively, putting their billionaire status at risk."

Apurva Mehta, co-founder of Instacart, which went public on the US Nasdaq market last month, saw his assets plunge from $3.576 billion to $75 million. Instacart's stock price fell below its IPO price within six trading days after the investment bubble burst. Trading under the parent company Maple Bear's name, Instacart's stock opened at $30 on the 19th, dropped more than 10% the following day, fluctuated around the $30 mark, and closed at $26.54 on that day.

Nazim Salur, founder of Turkish grocery delivery company Getir, also saw his assets plunge from $5.065 billion to $75 million. Getir, which expanded rapidly during the pandemic and seemed to be thriving by extending its business to the US and Western Europe, faced a sharp decline in performance due to reduced demand and has begun restructuring by cutting 10% (2,500 employees) of its global workforce.

Bloomberg reported, "Similar trends are continuing not only in the US and Europe but also in emerging markets such as India and China," adding, "The valuation of Indian delivery app startups in crisis has halved compared to the pandemic peak, and China's Missfresh is facing delisting due to a sharp stock price drop."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.