Gautam Adani Becomes First Asian To Be Named World's 3rd Richest, Overtakes Louis Vuitton Chief

It’s the first time an Asian has broken into the top three of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Adani is presently behind Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos of the US in the ranking.

New Delhi: Adani Group founder Gautam Adani becomes the first Asian to overtake France’s Bernard Arnault to become world’s third richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. It’s the first time an Asian has broken into the top three of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The 60-year-old business tycoon has expanded his coal-to-ports conglomerate and ventured into everything from data centers to cement, media, and alumina. The group now owns India’s largest private-sector port, airport operator, city-gas distributor, and coal miner.

What’s the current wealth of Gautam Adani?

Adani, who holds a $137.4 billion fortune, is presently behind Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos of the US in the ranking, reported news agency Bloomberg. The net worth of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos is currently at $251 billion and $153 billion, respectively.

Adani has surpassed wealth of Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault, a French business magnate, investor, and art collector.

Adani’s wealth soared by $60.9 billion in 2022, five times more than anyone else. Initially, he overtook Mukesh Ambani as the richest Asian in February to become a centibillionaire in April and surpassed Microsoft Corp.’s Bill Gates as the world’s fourth-richest person in July.

Adani managed to overtake some of the world’s richest US billionaires partly due to their focus on philanthropy. In July, Gates said he was transferring $20 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, while Warren Buffett has already donated more than $35 billion to the charity.

Even Adani raised his charitable initiatives, pledging in June to donate $7.7 billion for social causes to mark his 60th birthday.

The Adani Group is the third largest conglomerate (after Reliance Industries and the Tata Group) in the country. Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Power, Adani Total Gas, and Adani Transmission are among the listed companies of the group.

The company aims to venture into the telecom space and has massive plans to expand its green hydrogen and airports businesses.