Gautam Adani Becomes Asia’s Richest Person Again, Overtaking Mukesh Ambani

Gautam Adani has regained his position as Asia’s richest person, overtaking Mukesh Ambani, head of Reliance Industries, due to a significant surge in the stock prices of his diversified conglomerate. Adani’s net worth soared to USD 111 billion, placing him 11th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, just ahead of Ambani, who stands at USD 109 billion and ranks 12th globally.

This financial leap for Adani came after US brokerage Jefferies issued a positive outlook on the Adani Group, which is poised for a USD 90 billion expansion over the next decade. The announcement triggered up to a 14% increase in the share prices of Adani Group companies, adding Rs 84,064 crore to their market value and raising the total market capitalization of Adani’s 10 listed firms to Rs 17.51 lakh crore.

Adani’s rise to the top is particularly notable given his turbulent 2023, when a critical report by Hindenburg Research accused his conglomerate of fraud, causing a dramatic USD 150 billion drop in the group’s market value. This setback briefly displaced him from the global top 20 billionaires list. However, through strategic debt containment, reduced founder share pledges, and consolidation of core businesses, Adani’s group achieved record earnings by the fiscal year ending March 31.

Adani began his career in the diamond industry and later transitioned to his own import-export business in 1988. His wealth has exponentially grown over the past decade, from USD 5 billion in 2014 to USD 121 billion by the end of 2022.