It is the first time an Asian has entered the top three of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index; Mukesh Ambani and China's Jack Ma never made it that far.
Digital Desk: Just a few years ago, Gautam Adani was mostly unknown outside of India. But this week, the Indian billionaire, a dropout from college who first tried his luck as a diamond trader before switching to coal, became the third-richest person in the world.
It's the first time an Asian has entered the top three of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index; Jack Ma of China and fellow citizen Mukesh Ambani have never done so. With a fortune of $137.4 billion, Adani has surpassed Bernard Arnault of France and is now just behind US billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in terms of wealth.
Adani, 60, has spent the last few years diversifying his coal-to-ports conglomerate, diversifying into industries ranging from data centers to cement, media, and alumina. The group now owns India's largest private-sector port and airport operator, as well as the country's largest city-gas distributor and coal miner.
While environmentalists have criticized its Carmichael mine in Australia, it pledged in November to invest $70 billion in green energy to become the world's largest renewable-energy producer.
While his empire has grown to become one of the world's largest conglomerates, fueling remarkable wealth gains, concerns have grown about the rapid growth.
Adani's acquisition spree has been primarily funded by debt, and his empire is "deeply over-leveraged," according to CreditSights in a report this month.
Some lawmakers and market observers have also expressed concern about Adani Group companies' opaque shareholder structures and a lack of analyst coverage. Nonetheless, the tycoon's shares have soared – some by more than 1,000% since 2020, with valuations reaching 750 times earnings – as he has focused on areas that Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes are critical to India's long-term goals.
The shift to green energy and infrastructure has attracted investments from firms such as Warburg Pincus and TotalEnergies SE, propelling Adani into the ranks previously held by US tech titans. The recent surge in coal prices has accelerated his rise.
In total, Adani increased his wealth by $60.9 billion in 2022 alone, five times more than anyone else. He initially eclipsed Ambani as the wealthiest Asian in February, hit the billionaire mark in April, and this month passed Bill Gates of Microsoft Corp. to become the fourth-richest person in the world.
Due in part to their recent increase in generosity, some of the richest US billionaires have allowed Adani to surpass them in wealth. While Warren Buffett has previously given the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation more than $35 billion, Bill Gates said in July that he would transfer $20 billion to the organization.
Together with Melinda French Gates, Bill Gates' ex-wife, they launched the Giving Pledge campaign in 2010, promising to donate the majority of their wealth before they pass away. Their position on the Bloomberg wealth ranking has decreased due to the enormous sums of money spent on philanthropy.
Adani, who turned 60 in June, also expanded his charitable giving, promising to donate $7.7 billion to support social initiatives.
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