Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has displaced Bill Gates to become the world’s fourth-richest person.
Adani’s net worth surged to $112.5bn (R1.9-trillion) on Thursday, surpassing the Microsoft Corporation co-founder by $230m, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The Indian tycoon has added $36bn to his fortune this year, more than anyone else, while Gates’s has shrunk as he sped up philanthropy and tech shares sold off.
Adani, who built his empire on agri-trading, coal and ports, has been diversifying into green energy, airports, data centres, digital services and media, aligning his strategy with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s nation-building agenda.
The first-generation entrepreneur and college dropout who started with an agri-trading firm in the late 1980s has amassed almost all of his wealth in the past two years as his push to diversify intensified. He became a centibillionaire in April, joining the elite club that includes Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
In November he pledged to invest $70bn (R1.18-trillion) in green energy by 2030, a commitment often criticised by environmentalists given his group’s investment in developing the Carmichael coal mine project in Australia
In November he pledged to invest $70bn in green energy by 2030, a commitment often criticised by environmentalists given his group’s investment in developing the Carmichael coal mine project in Australia.
Most recently, he has been exploring potential partnerships with Aramco, including the possibility of buying a stake in the Saudi petroleum giant, acquired Holcims cement businesses in India for $10.5bn and signed a pact with South Korea’s steel producer Posco to explore business opportunities.
In April Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship firm, said it had established a new media subsidiary, signalling his ambitions to tap the fast-growing local entertainment market.
His ascent coincided with a philanthropic boost by some of the world’s richest people.
Gates said earlier this month that he’s sending $20bn to his foundation, which would more than cover the $15bn he and his ex-wife Melinda Gates promised in 2021. The pledge was accounted for in the wealth index when he made the announcement and $5bn more was added to that liability for the new promise, dropping Gates’s net worth to just less than Adani’s.
Warren Buffett, who’s fallen to No 7, has donated more than $35bn to the charity, including $3.1bn in June.
Adani has also increased his charitable giving. In June, to mark his 60th birthday, he pledged to donate $7.7bn to a variety of social causes.
Bloomberg
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