With a net worth of $137.4 billion, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani has become the third richest person in the world. The billionaire, whose wealth surged by over $60 billion in 2022 alone, has witnessed a thirteen-fold jump in his fortune in a little over two and half years.
From $10 billion in January 2020 to $137 billion (nearly Rs 11 lakh crore) now, Adani’s wealth multiplied such that he surpassed RIL Mukesh Ambani to become the richest Asian in February this year and then the world’s richest man. On August 30, the Adani Group chairman overtook Louis Vuitton Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault to become the first Asian to make it to the top 3 of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Now, only two Indian companies are valued more than Adani’s fortune – Reliance Industries (RIL) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). While RIL has a market capitalisation of Rs 17.7 lakh crore, TCS is valued at Rs 11. 8 lakh crore, a tad above Adani’s net worth of Rs 11 lakh crore.
In September 2021, Hurun India Rich List noted that Adani was the only Indian to build not one, but five Rs 1 lakh crore ($13 billion) companies in market value. Moreover, the industrialist added the most wealth in 2021, about $49 billion, at the rate of Rs 6,000 crore per week, according to the list.
The success of Adani Group companies
The Adani group has a combined market cap of a little over $250 billion (or about Rs 20 lakh crore) now but it too had a humble beginning. Adani established Adani Enterprises (then Adani Exports) in 1988 aimed at starting a commodities trading business. He then entered the export-import business with Mundra port.
It became the biggest coal trading company in the country and one of India’s largest foreign exchange earners within a decade.
Since then, the group has made forays into several new businesses, through green field projects, acquisitions and joint ventures. Now, the Adani Group comprises 7 publicly traded companies – Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Transmission, Adani Total Gas, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar.
Some of these firms have zoomed over 1,000 per cent in the last two years as the group moved more towards green energy and infrastructure. Shares of Adani Green and Adani Total Gas have skyrocketed more than 1,000 per cent since 2020.
Adani Enterprises too has advanced over 1,400 per cent since 2020 and Adani Transmission jumped over 1,000 per cent. Adani Ports has witnessed a 120 rise during the same period.
Bloomberg Billionaires Index
Adani now trails just behind Tesla CEO Elon Musk who currently has a net worth of $251 billion and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos who has a net worth of $153 billion.
