Gautam Adani, family commit Rs 60,000 cr to charity to mark his 60th birthday

One of the richest Asians, Gautam Adani, and his family has committed a donation of Rs 60,000 crore to a range of social causes to mark the business tycoon's 60th birthday that falls on June 24. This corpus will be administered by the Adani Foundation, the Adani Group said in a statement.

Further, this year is also the year of the centenary birth anniversary of Gautam Adani’s father Shantilal Adani.

The Indian tycoon, who turns 60 tomorrow, joins the ranks of global billionaires like Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffett who have committed large parts of their wealth for philanthropy. Adani's net worth is almost $95 billion, according to Forbes Real Time Billionaires' list.

Adani also took to Twitter to announce the donation for social causes. "On our father’s 100thbirth anniversary & my 60thbirthday, Adani Family is gratified to commit Rs 60,000 cr in charity towards healthcare, edu & skill-dev across India," the billionaire posted.

The donation will focus on areas such as healthcare, education, and skill development, which form the foundation of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat,' it added. "The Adani Foundation has gained rich experience in working with communities focused on integrated development efforts across all these areas. Addressing these challenges can significantly enhance the competence and competitiveness of our future workforce."

“In addition to being the 100th birth anniversary of my inspiring father, this year also happens to be the year of my 60th birthday and, therefore, the family decided to contribute Rs. 60,000 crore towards charitable activities related to healthcare, education, and skill development, especially in the rural regions of our nation,” said Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group.

“At a very fundamental level, programs related to all these three areas should be seen holistically and they collectively form the drivers to build an equitable and future-ready India. Our experience in large project planning and execution and the learnings from the work done by the Adani Foundation will help us uniquely accelerate these programs. This contribution from the Adani Family intends to draw upon some of the brightest minds that have a passion to make a difference in the Adani Foundation’s journey to do more towards fulfilling our ‘Growth with Goodness’ philosophy," he added.

On this occasion, Azim Premji, Chairman of Azim Premji Foundation and Founder Chairman of Wipro Limited said, “Gautam Adani and his family’s commitment towards philanthropy should set an example that we can all try to live Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of Trusteeship of Wealth at the peak of our business success and need not wait for our sunset years”. He further added “the challenges and possibilities of our country demand that we work together as one, cutting across all divides of wealth, region, religion, caste, and more. I wish Gautam Adani and his Foundation the very best in this important national endeavour."

Gautam Adani-led Adani Foundation has worked in alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – be it sustainable livelihoods, health and nutrition, and education for all or addressing environmental concerns – with a focus on the empowerment of women, working with multiple stakeholders at the grassroots. Currently, the foundation covers 3.7 million people in 2,409 villages across 16 states in India, according to the company statement.

Adani Group is constituted of 7 publicly listed entities with combined market capitalization in excess of with businesses spanning across Energy, Ports & Logistics, Mining & Resources, Gas, Defence & Aerospace and Airports. In each of its business areas, the Group has established leadership position in India.