Gautam Adani Back Into Top 20 On Billionaires List; Ranks 18th

OB Bureau

May 24, 2023 2:52 pm

New Delhi: Adani Group Founder and Chairman Gautam Adani is back among the world’s 20 wealthiest individuals on the Bloomberg Billionaires list. He ranks 18. On Tuesday, Adani group companies’ share prices jumped in trade, and the billionaire’s net worth surged by $4.38 billion to $64.2 billion.

Gautam Adani slipped out of the top 20 list on February 3, as his net worth fell sharply following Hindenburg Research’s report on the Adani group and its founder. Once the second richest person in the world with a net worth of $154 billion in September 2022, Adani has lost $56.4 billion since the start of this year.

On Tuesday, Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners raised their stake in Adani Enterprises by 10% and expressed commitment to take part in the future of the ports-to-power conglomerate’s fundraising efforts in the future. The share price of the holding company soared 19% on Tuesday. The positive momentum extended to other companies within the Adani group, as their stock prices witnessed substantial gains.

On January 24, Hindenburg Research published a report named “Adani Group: How The World’s 3rd Richest Man Is Pulling The Largest Con In Corporate History.” It accused Gautam Adani and his brothers of stock manipulation and running various shell companies abroad, taking a short position in Adani Group Companies through US-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments. The report further added that its 7 key listed companies have 85% downside purely on a fundamental basis owing to sky-high valuations. However, the conglomerate has denied all allegations.