what does it mean by $2.9 trillion wiped away due to losses in Stock market. Where did it go?

Question

Where did the money actually go? Are these small startups or individuals that have gone bankrupt that totalled this amount ?

In: Economics

Answer 1

It just unrealized gain meaning that I bought something that I thought was worth about $100, but then the perceived value start falling because no one is buying and I am trying to sell it, but people realize that maybe it is not worth that much. This item then falls to something like $60 since people are starting to buy at that value. I just “lost” $40, because I did not sell that item at $100. The money goes nowhere since now I can only sale it at $60, but if the people start buying up everything at $60 and the item’s value start climb because not enough supply to meet that demand it can go back up to $100.