Gautam Adani becomes Asia’s richest man, beats Mukesh Ambani after SC’s Hindenburg verdict

Gautam Adani has been on a rollercoaster ride when it comes to wealth gain and loss over the last year, losing over 34 percent of his net worth in January 2023 when Hindenburg research released its report regarding the company.

Not only this, but Gautam Adani has also surpassed Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani as the richest person in India and Asia, according to the Bloomberg Index. Adani currently is on the 12th spot on the Bloomberg’s global billionaires index while Ambani is on the 13th spot.

On January 5, Gautam Adani has a total net worth of $97.6 billion, while Mukesh Ambani was just one spot below the businessman, with a net worth of $97 billion. Further, Adani also became one of the biggest wealth gainer of India this fiscal year.

Earlier, Savitri Jindal of Jindal Steel was the top wealth gainer, but was beat out by Mukesh Ambani. Now, Gautam Adani has recovered his wealth and saw the biggest jump in net worth across India in 2023.

In the span of just one day, Gautam Adani’s net worth grew by $7.7 billion, while his overall wealth grew by $13.3 billion, becoming the biggest net worth gainer in the world. Ambani is on the second spot, adding $10 billion to his net worth this year.

Adani-Hindenburg verdict by Supreme Court

In January 2023, Hindenburg Research has released a report accusing Adani Group and chairman Gautam Adani of corporate and financial fraud, leading to the company losing over $150 billion in market value.

Adani Group’s stocks rallied after Supreme Court of India this week ordered the local markets regulator to conclude its investigation into the conglomerate within three months and said no more probes were needed, effectively drawing a line under the year-long short-seller saga.

The Supreme Court rejected the need for an SIT probe, with investigations into two out of 24 petitions still remaining in the case. The apex court bench said that their power to enter into SEBI’s investigations is “limited”, and talked about the loss incurred by investors because of the report.

(With inputs with Bloomberg)