- Earlier, Gautam Adani, Shiv Nadar, and Ashok Soota, as well as Malaysian-Indian businessman Brahmal Vasudevan and his lawyer wife Shanthi Kandiah, were named in the 16th edition of Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy.
NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, DEC 15
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, who left behind Mukesh Ambani as Asia’s richest man earlier in February this year, has been included in Bloomberg’s top 50 industrialists in the world.
According to Bloomberg, Gautam Adani has been mentioned as one of the most busiest dealmaker in the year 2022 whose wealth surged more than anyone else, making him world’s third-richest person behind Bernard Arnault and Elon Musk.
Gautam Adani overtook Indian compatriot Mukesh Ambani in February to become Asia’s richest man. The $49 billion surge in his personal wealth this year has put him ahead of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett as well. Now with a net worth of $125.5 billion-also surpassing Jeff Bezos-Adani is expanding his infrastructure conglomerate. He’s been the busiest dealmaker in Asia this year, acquiring assets such as Swiss cement giant Holcim Ltd.’s India units for $10 billion.
Seen as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he made a hostile bid for broadcaster NDTV, one of the few media organizations in India willing to criticize the government. This association has renewed concerns over press freedoms there. Adani Enterprises Ltd. has explained in filings that it intends to bolster NDTV’s business and “empower Indian citizens.”
A first-generation entrepreneur who dropped out of college, Adani started as a diamond trader in Mumbai and made most of his fortune in ports and mines, with his controversial investment in Australia’s Carmichael coal mine making him a target of environmentalists. The stake has also meant that his latest pivot, a pledge to plow $70 billion into green energy, is being scrutinized just as Adani is trying to establish himself more firmly on the global stage.
Earlier, Gautam Adani, Shiv Nadar, and Ashok Soota, as well as Malaysian-Indian businessman Brahmal Vasudevan and his lawyer wife Shanthi Kandiah, were named in the 16th edition of Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy.
The unranked list “highlights leading altruists in the Asia-Pacific region who demonstrated a strong personal commitment to philanthropic causes,” Forbes said in a press release.
Adani was listed for having pledged Rs 60,000 crores (USD 7.7 billion) when he turned 60 in June this year. The pledge makes him one of India’s most generous philanthropists, the press release said.
