top line
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani briefly became the world’s second-richest person on Friday, trailing only Elon Musk, and relatively little-known infrastructure and energy now richer than the likes of Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.
key facts
Adani is worth $152.2 billion (as of Friday noon ET), according to ForbesThe accounts, lagging only Musk ($270.1 billion) and Bernard Arnault ($154.7 billion), although Adani briefly outpaced Arnault early Friday thanks to higher share prices for several publicly listed Adani Group companies.
Since then, 60-year-old self-made college dropout Adani, making his fortune for the first time thanks to a commodities and port empire, has acquired a variety of companies in media, energy and transportation, including buying a majority stake in Mumbai International Airport. in 2020, making his company the largest airport operator in India.
Adani describes himself as an introvert, and has maintained a remarkably low profile for his wealth.
Adani first appeared in ForbesList of billionaires in 2008, with an estimated fortune of $9.3 billion, a fortune that has increased 15 times since then.
main background
Adani became the richest person in Asia in February as share prices of several Indian companies listed in the Adani Group soared. Many Adani companies are included in ForbesThe ranking of the world’s 2000 largest publicly traded companies earlier this year: Adani Enterprises, transportation giant Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, renewable energy provider Adani Green Energy, utility company Adani Transmission and natural gas giant Adani Total Gas. Adani’s fortune exceeded $100 billion in April, and he surpassed US investor Warren Buffett later that month to become the world’s fifth richest person. Adani overtook Bill Gates in July and beat Bezos as the third richest man earlier this week.
critical quote
โBeing an entrepreneur is my dream job because it tests oneโs perseverance. I can never take orders from anyone,โ Adani said. Forbes in 2010. Adani said at the time that he hoped “to be remembered as someone who created a unique infrastructure for India and contributed to India’s economic growth story”.
Amazing fact
Adani survived two notable death brawls, a 1997 kidnapping and a 2008 terrorist attack. In 1997, he was kidnapped at gunpoint for a ransom of $1.5 million before being released, according to India’s Times Now newspaper. The billionaire is reticent to talk about the accident, but he told financial times The kidnapping in 2013 was one of “two or three very unfortunate incidents” in his life. Later, Adani was dining in a restaurant at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel when terrorists overran the restaurant as part of a wider series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008. He only escaped when soldiers stormed the building.
Huge number
7.7 billion dollars. This is the amount Adani pledged to donate to charity on his 60th birthday in June. His wife Preeti Adani heads the Adani family charity, which focuses on developing healthcare and education systems in rural India.
in-depth reading
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani becomes the richest person in AsiaForbes)
India’s Gautam Adani is now the richest Asian billionaire ever as his fortune has jumped to over $100 billion (Forbes)
