"First Asian" Adani Chairman from India Rises to 3rd Place in Global Billionaire Rankings

Chairman Gautam Adani of Indian infrastructure company Adani Group [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Gautam Adani, chairman of Indian infrastructure company Adani Group, has become the first Asian to rank 3rd among the world's richest people, Bloomberg reported on the 29th (local time).

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Adani's personal wealth was estimated at $137.4 billion on that day. He was ranked 3rd in the world behind American Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. Bernard Arnault, founder of France's LVMH, who previously held the 3rd position, was pushed down to 4th.

Adani, who turned 60 this year, is chairman of Adani Group, which focuses on energy businesses such as mining and infrastructure projects including port construction in India.

After dropping out of university, he began his career as a diamond trader in Mumbai, and in 1988 founded Adani Enterprises, the group's current core company, expanding into trade. Not stopping at trade, he ventured into port construction and gradually expanded his presence in India's infrastructure sector, actively engaging in energy businesses as well.

Adani's wealth has surged by $60.9 billion just this year. Among the top 10 richest people, he is the only one whose assets have increased compared to the beginning of the year. While major stock markets fluctuated due to soaring inflation and recession concerns, shaking the wealth of global billionaires, Adani's assets have risen.

In February, Adani surpassed Mukesh Ambani, the richest Asian and chairman of India's Reliance Industries, and two months later in April, he became the first Asian to exceed $100 billion in personal wealth. Last month, he overtook Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft (MS), to rank 4th among the world's richest.

Bloomberg stated, "Until a few years ago, his name was unheard of outside India," adding, "Now, this Indian magnate has become the world's 3rd richest person."

However, Bloomberg reported growing market concerns over Adani Group's rapid growth. Market experts warn that since Adani mainly finances through debt, there is a possibility of default in the worst case. There are also warnings about opaque shareholder structures, but thanks to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic growth policies, Adani Group's stock price has soared more than 1000% since 2020, Bloomberg added.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.