NEW DELHI, Apr 17: Business tycoon Gautam Adani has overtaken fellow Gujarat industrialist Mukesh Ambani to become Asia\u2019s richest person, driven by a strong rally in shares of his ports-to-energy conglomerate, which boosted his net worth significantly.<\/p>\n
With a net worth of USD 92.6 billion, Adani has surpassed Ambani, whose wealth stands at USD 90.8 billion, according to the latest global billionaire rankings.<\/p>\n
Adani, the founder of the Adani Group, oversees India\u2019s largest private port network, operates major airports, leads the country\u2019s largest renewable energy portfolio, and is among the world\u2019s significant coal traders.<\/p>\n
He is currently ranked 19th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the world\u2019s top 500 richest individuals and is updated daily.<\/p>\n
His wealth is largely driven by shareholdings across the group\u2019s listed companies. A recent surge in Adani Group stocks has added substantial market value, reflecting strong investor confidence in India\u2019s infrastructure growth and energy transition sectors.<\/p>\n
In contrast, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries\u2014whose business spans energy, telecom, and retail\u2014has seen relatively slower growth in wealth, leading to a reshuffling in Asia\u2019s billionaire rankings.<\/p>\n
Globally, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, remains the world\u2019s richest person with a net worth of USD 656 billion. He is followed by Larry Page, co-founder of Alphabet, with USD 286 billion, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ranks third with USD 269 billion.<\/p>\n
Adani and Ambani remain the only Indians among the top 50 richest individuals globally. Ambani had held the position of India and Asia\u2019s richest for over a decade before Adani\u2019s rapid rise in 2022 due to sharp gains in stock prices.<\/p>\n
However, Adani Group\u2019s stocks later faced a major setback following a report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research, which led to a significant loss in market value. This allowed Ambani to regain the top position temporarily.<\/p>\n
Since then, the two industrialists have exchanged the top spot multiple times, with Adani\u2019s latest rise attributed to renewed investor interest, infrastructure expansion, and growth in the energy sector.<\/p>\n
The Adani Group today has a diversified presence across logistics, energy, airports, defence, data centres, cement, roads, railways, real estate, food processing, and digital businesses.<\/p>\n
According to the group, Gautam Adani is India\u2019s first first-generation entrepreneur to build a business empire exceeding a market capitalisation of USD 200 billion. (Agency)<\/p>\n\n