Indian Industrialist Gautam Adani Is the Richest Person in Asia—Again
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This year is off to a much better start than 2023 was for Gautam Adani.
The founder of the Adani Group saw his net worth rise an eye-popping $7.7 billion in one day, catapulting him back into place as the richest person in Asia, Bloomberg reported on Thursday night. In total, he now has $97.6 billion, slightly more than the Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani’s $97 billion.
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It’s a welcome return for Adani, who saw his wealth plummet last year after a Hindenburg Research report found that his company reportedly had been carrying out corporate fraud. While the Adani Group denied the allegations, it lost more than $150 billion in market value at one point. And Adani himself saw one of the biggest drop-offs in wealth in 2023: Right before Hindenburg published its report, he was worth $118.9 billion. Throughout the entire year, he lost $37.3 billion.
His recent gains, however, come in response to the Supreme Court of India saying that there should be no more probes into the allegations against the Adani Group. The judicial authority also told the local markets regulator that it must end its investigation into the company within three months. That news led the Adani Group’s stock to rebound mightily, and the founder has seen his fortune rise by $13.3 billion, the largest wealth gain of anyone this year (so far).
Despite his impressive wealth, Adani still sits outside the top 10 richest people in the world, a list that’s led by Elon Musk and his $220 billion. However, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, almost everyone above Adani in the ranking has lost money this year—the exception being Warren Buffett, the eight-wealthiest person on the planet. The investor has buffeted (sorry) his wealth by a more modest $1.9 billion this year.
Given that we’re only a few days into January, it’s hard to know whether these trends will hold throughout 2024. Last year saw ups and downs in billionaires’ wealth, but the 500 richest people still ended up gaining a total of $1.5 trillion. Meanwhile, 2022 saw them lose $2 trillion. It’s a safe bet that most billionaires are hoping for a repeat of 2023 instead of 2022, then. Except, perhaps, Adani, whose 2024 is looking to be a much better—and wealthier—year.
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