India: Gautam Adani now world's third richest person, overtakes Louis Vuitton chief

Business conglomerate Adani Group's chairman Gautam Adani is now the world's third richest person after overtaking France's Bernard Arnault, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

With a total net worth of $137.4 billion, 60-year-old Adani is now just behind business magnates Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in the rankings.

Reliance chief Mukesh Ambani is at number 11 with a total worth of $91.9 billion.

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

The index is a daily ranking of the world's richest people. Details about the calculations are provided in the net worth analysis on each billionaire's profile page. The figures are updated at the close of every trading day in New York.

The net worth of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are currently $251 billion and $153 billion, respectively.

Adani is a first-generation entrepreneur, whose Adani Group comprises of 7 publicly-listed entities with businesses spanning energy, ports and logistics, mining and resources, gas, defence and aerospace and airports. In each of its business areas, the Group has established an important position in India.

The Adani Group is the third largest conglomerate — after Reliance Industries and the Tata Group — in India.

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 5 years, the 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.

Looking ahead, it has massive plans to enter the telecom space, and to grow its green hydrogen and airports businesses.

Recently, the Group also announced plans to set up a 4.1 mtpa integrated alumina refinery, as well as a 30 mtpa iron ore beneficiation plant in Odisha that could cost over Rs580 billion.

As a part of its corporate social responsibility, the Adani Group had decided to contribute Rs 600 billion towards charitable activities related to healthcare, education, and skill development, focussing especially on rural India, he told shareholders at the group's Annual General Meeting held in late July.

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