Gautam Adani lost more than Rs 4 trillion in last six months of 2023: Report

Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani lost over Rs 4 trillion in the past six months of 2023 (from January to June), Bloomberg reported on Sunday. On January 27, Adani lost $20.8 billion in a single day, the largest one-day loss for any billionaire on record. 

The loss was attributed to a report by Hindenburg Research, a US short-seller firm, which accused Adani's group of accounting fraud and stock manipulation. 

Hindenburg Research alleged that Adani's group had inflated its profits and used shell companies to hide its debt. Adani's group has denied the allegations, calling them "false and defamatory."

As per the report, the world's wealthiest individuals saw huge gains in the first half of 2023. The 500 richest people on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in total added $852 billion to their fortunes during this period. The billionaires on the index saw an average daily increase of $14 million, making this the most profitable half-year for this privileged group since the second half of 2020, when the global economy recovered from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Elon Musk was the top gainer, adding $96.6 billion in his net worth from January to June 2023 to his fortune. Musk's wealth is largely tied to the performance of Tesla, the electric car company he founded. Tesla's stock price has more than doubled in the past year.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., gained $58.9 billion in the first half of 2023. This is the second-largest gain for any individual on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Zuckerberg's wealth is largely tied to the performance of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Meta's stock price has also seen gains in the recent past.

The gains for the world's wealthiest individuals come at a time when the global economy is facing a number of challenges, including rising inflation and the war in Ukraine. However, the billionaires on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index have largely been insulated from these challenges, thanks to the strong performance of their investments.

Also Read: Adani Group says raised $9 bn in four years from marquee investors, including $3.25 bn in 2023