Gautam Adani reclaims Asia's richest person tag from Mukesh Ambani, net worth surges to $111 billion

Billionaire Gautam Adani surpassed Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani to reclaim the title of Asia’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. As of 6 pm on Saturday, Adani, the chairman of Adani Group, holds the 11th spot on the index with a net worth of $111 billion, compared to Ambani's $109 billion. 

Adani has overtaken Ambani after nearly five months. Ambani currently stands at 12th spot with a net worth of $109 billion. 

The Founder and Chairman of the Adani Group added $5.45 billion in net worth, while Ambani saw a gain of $76.2 million. On a year-to-date basis, Adani added $26.8 billion in net worth, while Ambani gained by $12.7 billion. 

The RIL chairman had overtaken Adani in net worth following a crash in Adani Group valuation after the Hindenburg report in January 2023. In a report, Hindenburg alleged that the conglomerate was involved in accounting fraud, stock market manipulation and fraudulent transactions 

Adani’s reclamation of Asia’s wealthiest rank was fuelled by the recent rally in the group stocks. On May 31, shares of all Adani Group companies hogged the limelight and rose 14 percent during the day following a report by Jefferies highlighting the group's aggressive expansion plans, including $90 billion in capital expenditures over the next decade. 

Adani Group stocks added up to Rs 1.23 lakh crore in investor wealth, bringing their total market capitalisation to Rs 17.94 lakh crore on an intraday basis. At closing, the market capitalisation had settled at Rs 17.51 lakh crore, with an addition of Rs 84,064 crore in value. 

The calendar year of 2023 had been quite challenging for the Adani Group after the Supreme Court ordered a panel to probe the allegations in the Hindenburg report. Adani, who was the third richest person in the world with over $110 billion in valuation, before the report saw his fortunes nosedive by 34 percent after the group’s shares saw a sell-off. 

Later the Supreme Court ordered the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) to conclude its investigation into the Adani Group and said no more probes were needed. 

Last week, Adani expressed his optimism about the future of the group saying that its best days are ahead. “The road ahead is paved with extraordinary possibilities, and I can promise you that the Adani Group today is stronger than it has ever been,” he said, as reported by NDTV. 

According to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bernard Arnault is currently the richest person in the world with a net worth of $207 billion. He is followed by Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos with total wealth of $203 billion and $199 billion, respectively. 

Latest ranking of the world’s richest individuals: 

1. Bernard Arnault - $207 billion 
2. Elon Musk - $203 billion 
3. Jeff Bezos - $199 billion 
4. Mark Zuckerberg - $166 billion 
5. Larry Page - $153 billion 
6. Bill Gates - $152 billion 
7. Sergey Brin - $145 billion 
8. Steve Ballmer - $144 billion 
9. Warren Buffett - $137 billion 
10. Larry Ellison - $132 billion