After a roller-coaster ride on the wealth rankings last year, Gautam Adani is back to being Asia’s wealthiest person days after India’s top court said no new probes were needed into Hindenburg Research’s bombshell allegations against the tycoon’s conglomerate.
Mr Adani’s net worth rose by $7.7 billion in a day to $97.6 billion, reclaiming the top spot in the region from Indian compatriot Mukesh Ambani, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Mr Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, was trailing by a narrow margin with a net worth of $97 billion, the index shows.
The comeback of the first-generation entrepreneur, who started off as a diamond trader in the 1980s, caps an eventful year for Mr Adani’s ports-to-power conglomerate.
Despite denying Hindenburg’s allegations of corporate fraud, the Adani Group lost more than $150 billion in market value at one point last year and spent months wooing back investors, lenders, repaying debt and assuaging regulatory concerns.
Adani Group’s stocks rallied after the Supreme Court of India this week ordered the local markets regulator to conclude its investigation into the conglomerate within three months and said no more probes were needed, effectively drawing a line under the year-long saga on short-selling.
The court reprieve stoked a $13.3 billion wealth gain for Mr Adani – the world’s largest this year – after he registered one of the biggest wealth losses in 2023.
Mr Adani, whose conglomerate has committed an investment of $100 billion over the next decade for green transition across its businesses, is also back to rapidly diversifying his empire beyond its coal-trading origins into data centres, artificial intelligence, urban development, airports and media.
Top 10 richest people in the world in 2023 – in pictures
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Bernard Arnault, head of luxury group LVMH, is currently the world's richest person with $223.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. AFP -
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the second-richest person in the world with a net worth of $207.3 billion. AFP -
Meta founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is now the third-richest person in the world with a net worth of $186.9 billion. AFP -
Elon Musk has dropped back to fourth place on the Bloomberg Billionaire's Index with a personal fortune of $180.6 billion. Reuters -
Fifth is Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, with a personal fortune of $153 billion. AFP -
Sixth place goes to Steve Balmer, former chief executive of Microsoft and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, with a net worth of $147 billion. AP -
Berkshire Hathaway chairman and chief executive Warren Buffett is the world's seventh-richest person with a net worth of $138 billion. AP -
Taking eighth spot is Google co-founder Larry Page, with a net worth of $138 billion. AP -
Next up is Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who is worth $137 billion. AFP -
Google co-founder Sergey Brin is the 10th-richest person in the world with a net worth of $131 billion. Image Press Agency
