Gautam Adani became the latest entrant to the centibillionaires club, having breached the $100 billion mark in personal wealth. The Indian business tycoon has ports, mines and green energy under his banner with his wealth increasing by almost $ 24 billion this year.
According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he is also the world’s biggest gainer this year and joins the elite group alongside compatriot Mukesh Ambani, who led the benchmark in October, but his net worth dropped to $99 billion.
Adani, who had dropped out of college, made his fortune in the coal industry in the beginning. With a shift towards green energy and infrastructure landing him investments from companies like France’s Total SE and Warburg Pincus, he amassed almost all his wealth in the past two years.
Meanwhile, he is reportedly exploring potential partnerships in Saudi Arabia with the possibility of buying a stake in the world’s largest oil exporter, meaning his wealth could rise further.
However, Adani’s focus has been on expanding in areas that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi deemed important to nation-building which is paying off with some of Adani Group stocks surging more than 1,000 per cent since 2020.
At 59 years of age, Adani stood out in the last year with his net worth rising by $42.7 billion, one of the biggest gains. He also became Asia’s richest man in April for a short while, going past Ambani.
Notably, Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezoz became the first to hit the $100 billion mark since Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 1999. Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk, who joined the club in 2020, now leads the pack at $273 billion net worth.
