Gautam Adani becomes the 2nd richest person in Asia
Riding on the strong rally in the stock prices of his group companies over the last many months, billionaire Gautam Adani has moved past China’s Zong Shanshan to become the second richest person in Asia, according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index. In February, India’s richest person and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani overtook the Chinese billionaire to become the richest person in Asia.
As per the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Adani’s net worth now stands at $66.5 billion against Zhong Shanshan at $63.6 billion. Adani’s wealth surged by $32.7 billion this year, bigger than Mukesh Ambani where he lost $175.5 million so far.
Meanwhile, RIL’S chairman Mukesh Ambani’s total wealth now stands at $76.5 billion. He is currently the 13th richest in the world followed by Gautam Adani at 14th, according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
For the past two years, Ambani held the numero uno position in the ranking of Asia’s richest people. But Shanshan bagged the title from the RIL chairman after the listing of his two companies.
By early 2021, the Chinese tycoon was the sixth-wealthiest person in the world. Zhong Shanshan is the richest man in China with a net worth of $63.6 billion following the stock listings last year of Nongfu Spring mineral water and separate pharma company Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which has tapped into demand for Covid-19 test kits.
The breakneck speed of growth in Adani’s wealth has come on the back of the rise in the share prices of Adani Green, Adani Enterprises, Adani Gas and Adani Transmission.
Adani Total Gas shares have jumped 1145% in the last one year, while Adani Enterprises and Adani Transmission shares have rallied 827% and 617%, respectively. Adani Green Energy and Adani Power have gained 433% and 189%, respectively, during this period, Adani Power advanced by 142%.
Adani Green Energy on Wednesday announced that it will acquire Softbank’s Indian renewable energy business SB Energy’s 5 gigawatts renewable power portfolio for an enterprise valuation of $3.5 billion. The transaction marks the largest acquisition in the renewable energy sector in India, the company said.
Adani Green’s acquisition is just one of the examples of the dealmaking spree that the group has been engaged in over the last two years, in a bid to increase its dominance in India’s infrastructure sector.
In March, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd acquired a 58.1% stake in Gangavaram Port Ltd from D.V.S. Raju and family for ₹3,604 crore, winning majority control of the private port at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. It had earlier acquired a 31.5% stake in the port from Warburg Pincus.