Gautam Adani has fallen from his position among the top 10 richest individuals globally and may soon lose his title as Asia’s richest individual if the declining trend of his conglomerate’s shares persists.
Gautam Adani’s wealth has decreased by $36 billion in January due to a drop in his company’s stock prices after the release of the Hindenburg report. As a result, he is no longer part of the exclusive group of the world’s top 10 richest billionaires.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 60-year-old Indian magnate based in Ahmedabad now ranks 11th on the rich list with a net worth of $84.4 billion. Adani has experienced the biggest loss among the world’s top 500 wealthiest individuals so far in the year 2023.
Interestingly, Adani was the top wealth gainer in 2022, with an increase of approximately $40 billion in his personal wealth. However, it appears that he has now lost all the gains he made last year.
Despite dropping out of college, Adani still holds the title of the wealthiest Indian, with Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani close behind at number 12.
Since the release of a 32,000-word report by New York-based short-seller Hindenburg Research last week, which accuses Adani of various fraudulent acts, malpractices, and stock manipulation, he has lost billions of dollars in each trading day.
According to Bloomberg data, Adani has lost $34 billion in the past three trading sessions as his group companies saw a decrease of over one-fourth of its market capitalization.
Adani experienced a significant rise in stock prices across his vast empire, which includes ports, FMCG, mining, and energy, and briefly held the second spot on the rich list last year, with only Elon Musk being wealthier.
Currently, Adani ranks behind ten other billionaires such as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Mukesh Ambani follows closely at number 12 on the rich list with a net worth of $84.4 billion.
Adani Group has responded with a 413-page rebuttal to the 88 questions posed by New York-based short-seller Hindenburg Research. The group has questioned the motives behind the report, calling it a case of unethical short-selling by a foreign entity. The group alleges that the publication of the report was meant to manipulate and lower stock prices and create a false market.