With a net worth of $122.8 billion, the Adani Group chairman edged out Mr Buffet, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, on Monday to join the top five billionaires club for the first time, the rich list showed. Mr Buffett, known as the "Oracle of Omaha", has a net worth of $121.7bn.
The top four richest billionaires in the world remain unchanged, with Tesla chief executive and founder Elon Musk, who is currently locked in a takeover bid for Twitter, retaining his number one ranking with a net worth of $269.7bn.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the world's second-wealthiest person with a net worth of $170.2bn. He is followed by Bernard Arnault, chairman of French luxury group LVMH, with a personal fortune of $166.8bn, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates in fourth place with $130bn.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is the world's eighth-richest person with a net worth of $103bn, according to the real-time Forbes index.
In total, there are 2,668 billionaires in the world, down from a record of 2,755 in 2021, Forbes said in its annual 2022 World Billionaires List. The list was released last month and used stock prices and exchange rates from March 11 to calculate the net worth of the world’s richest people.
“In all, 329 people fell off the billionaires list this year — the most since the 2009 financial crisis,” Forbes said at the time.
“The United Statesstill has more billionaires than any other country, with 735, up from 724 last year,” it added. “China remains second, with 607, including Hong Kong and Macau, followed by India (166), Germany (134) and Russia (83).”
Meanwhile, the combined net worth of the world’s richest people slipped 3 per cent to $12.7 trillion over the past year, from a record $13.1tn in 2021. This was driven by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Covid-19 pandemic and volatile stock markets, Forbes said in the annual report.
In February, Mr Adani, 59, was named the wealthiest person in Asia with a net worth of $88.5bn and ranked as the 10th-richest person in the world at the time, Bloomberg reported.
However, Mr Adani is one of the worlds' biggest wealth-gainers this year, adding more than $40bn to his fortune as shares of his listed companies skyrocketed, according to Forbes.
Mr Adani is a first-generation entrepreneur who began his career as a diamond trader in Mumbai in the 1980s, before helping to run his brother’s plastics business in the state of Gujarat.
In 1988, he set up Adani Enterprises — the group’s flagship company — as an agri-commodities trader.
Over the past 20 years, the group has diversified into ports, power generation and distribution, airports, data centres and digital services.
In November, the Adani Group committed to invest $70bn by 2030 across its green-energy value chain to become the world’s largest renewable energy producer.
The company is also accelerating plans for its solar-energy portfolio and ports business to be carbon neutral by 2025.
Top 10 richest people in the world
Elon Musk: $269.7bn
Jeff Bezos: $170.2bn
Bernard Arnault: $166.8bn
Bill Gates: $130bn
Gautam Adani: $122.8bn
Warren Buffett: $121.7bn
Larry Ellison: $107.6bn
Mukesh Ambani: $103bn
Larry Page: $102.4bn
Sergey Brin: $98.5bn
Source: Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List
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World’s top 12 youngest billionaires under 30 — in pictures
Norway’s fishing farm heir Gustav Magnar Witzoe, 28, has a net worth of $4.5 billion. Getty
Ryan Breslow, 27, dropped out of Stanford University to set up payment software company Bolt. He has a fortune of $2bn. AFP
Austin Russell, 27, the founder and chief executive of automotive sensor company Luminar Technologies, has a net worth of $1.6bn. Bloomberg
Henrique Dubugras is co-founder and co-chief executive of Brex, a FinTech that intends to overhaul the corporate credit card. He is worth $1.5bn. Bloomberg
Alexandra Andresen, 25, and her sister Katharina each inherited 42 per cent of the family-owned investment company Ferd. Photo: Dag Knudsen
Katharina Andresen, 26. She and her sister are both worth $1.3bn. Photo: Dag Knudsen
Stanley Tang is a co-founder and head of labs at restaurant delivery app DoorDash. He is worth $1.5bn. Photo: DoorDash
DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang serves as the app's head of consumer engineering and is worth $1.5bn. Getty
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
