Maybe the previous numbers were too unrealistically inflated but nevertheless it's a significant loss of wealth for a large number people. At least Elton John (and sheesh, it's 2009 so can the Brits ditch the "sir" crap?) lost parts of his fortune because he's been giving it away to charity.
Figures compiled for the Sunday Times Rich List 2009 reveal that the number of billionaires has fallen from 75 to 43 in the past 12 months.
Lakshmi Mittal, the London-based steel magnate, was the biggest loser among the billionaires after his fortune dropped by almost £17bn to £10.8bn. But he retains his place as Britain's richest man for the fifth year running.
Roman Abramovich, the Russian owner of Chelsea Football Club, keeps his position at second on the list despite also suffering from the downturn. His fortune has fallen to £7bn from £11.7bn. The richest British-born billionaire is the Duke of Westminster. His fortune, mainly based on property, has shrunk from £7bn to £6.5bn.
Collectively, the 1,000 multimillionaires on the list are worth £258bn, down from last year's record total of £413bn.
