Gautam Adani becomes the world’s 2nd richest person

The second-richest person in the world, Gautam Adani, surpassed French businessman Bernard Arnault on Friday for a brief period of time. According to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List, Adani and his family’s net worth increased to $155.4 billion, surpassing that of LVMH Mot Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, co-founder, chairman, and CEO Arnault. 

With a net worth of $273.5 billion, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is currently just ahead of Gautam Adani. With Mukesh Ambani ranking eighth and a net worth of $92.2 billion, there are now two Indians in the top 10 of the Forbes list. With a net worth of $149.7 billion, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos comes in third, behind Microsoft founder Bill Gates ($105.3 billion), Larry Ellison ($98.3 billion), and legendary Wall Street investor Warren Buffet ($96.5 billion).

Adani only surpassed Gates to move up to third place in terms of wealth last month. Due to the enormous increase in his wealth brought on by the Adani Group shares rising this year, Adani’s ranking in Forbes has increased. All of the other billionaires in the top 10 saw a decline in their net worth on Friday, with the exception of Musk and Adani. Adani’s wealth increased by almost $5 billion today, while Anault’s net worth decreased by $3.1 billion, or 1.97%. The recent increase in the value of Adani Group stocks is the main factor that has helped Adani move up the rankings.

The value of the group chairman’s real-time net worth increased as a result of the Adani Group stocks Adani Enterprises, Adani Port, and Adani Transmission reaching new highs on the BSE early on Friday.

Adani group shares have increased despite some lawmakers and market observers voicing concerns about the conglomerate’s companies’ opaque shareholder structures and a lack of analyst coverage. Since 2020, some shares of companies in the Adani group have increased by more than 1,000%. 

Another reason Adani has been able to surpass some of the wealthiest US billionaires this year, according to a Bloomberg report, is in part because some of the wealthiest Americans recently increased their philanthropy. While Warren Buffett has already given the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation more than $35 billion, Bill Gates announced in July that he would be transferring $20 billion to the organisation.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Adani has increased his wealth by $72 billion so far this year, making him the only person among the top 10 richest people in the world (aside from Mukesh Ambani) to have done so. The largest port operator in India and founder of the conglomerate Adani Group, Adani is 60 years old.

According to March 2022 stock exchange filings, the billionaire owns 75% of the shares of Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, and Adani Transmissions. Additionally, he holds a 37% ownership stake in Adani Total Gas, a 65% stake in Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, and a 61% stake in Adani Green Energy.