Adani is world’s third richest man

India’s Gautam Adani is now the third richest man in the world with a net worth of $137 billion, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires data.

The Indian business tycoon, the first Asian ever to claim the world’s third richest title, trails Telsa chief Elon Musk and Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos on the coveted list. Musk has a net worth of $251 billion while Bezos is worth $153 billion.

Adani, who made headlines last week with the announcement that his firms are set to acquire 29 per cent stakes in NDTV, one of India’s top news networks, has surpassed French business magnate Bernard Arnault, the co-founder of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, commonly known as LVMH, a world leader in luxury fashion.

This is the first time, according to a Bloomberg report, that an Asian has made to the list of the top three wealthiest people in the world. Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani and China-base Alibaba group's Jack Ma, other rich Asians, they have not climbed this high.

In the latest billionaires Index, Ambani is at number 11 with a total $91.9 billion worth.

Adani is the co-founder of the Adani Group, the third largest conglomerate after Reliance Industries and the Tata Group in India. His group is the largest port operator in the country and is also the largest coal trader in the country. Revenue of $5.3 billion was reported by Adani Enterprises in the year to March 31 2021.

This is the first time an Asian person has broken into the top three of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Fitch group unit CreditSights recently said that the Adani Group is deeply overleveraged and may land in a debt trap.

Adani is a first-generation entrepreneur and the Adani Group comprises of seven publicly listed entities with businesses spanning energy, ports and logistics, mining and resources, gas, defence and aerospace, and airports.

Listed Adani group companies are Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Power, Adani Total Gas, and Adani Transmission.

Over the past five years, the tycoon’s flagship company Adani Enterprises has invested heavily in new growth sectors that include airports, cement, copper refining, data centres, green hydrogen, petrochemical refining, roads, and solar cell manufacturing. Going forward, the group plans to foray into the telecom space and has massive plans to grow its green hydrogen and airports businesses.

issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai