Gautam Adani overtakes Ambani to become richest Asian

PTI, Jun 2, 2024, 2:40 PM IST

Gautam Adani has reclaimed his position as Asia’s richest individual, surpassing Mukesh Ambani, following a significant rise in the stock prices of his diverse business empire. The surge boosted Adani’s net worth to USD 111 billion, making him the world’s 11th richest person, while Ambani trails at USD 109 billion, ranked 12th globally, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The jump was driven by US brokerage Jefferies’ optimistic outlook on Adani’s conglomerate, which is embarking on an ambitious USD 90 billion expansion plan over the next decade. On Friday, shares of Adani Group companies saw up to a 14% increase, pushing the market value of the 10 listed entities to Rs 17.51 lakh crore.

Adani’s resurgence follows a damaging report by Hindenburg Research, which alleged fraud within his business empire, sending stock prices crashing and forcing Adani out of the world’s top 20 billionaires. However, the group has since implemented a successful comeback strategy, focusing on debt reduction and strengthening core business areas, leading to record earnings for the fiscal year ending March 31.