India's Gautam Adani beats Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos with big increase in wealth

Indian tycoon Gautam Adani has added more billions to his wealth than anyone else in the world this year on the back of investor excitement around his ports-to-power plants conglomerate. The net worth of Adani, a first-generation entrepreneur who rarely speaks publicly, has jumped $16.2 billion in 2021 to $50 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This has made him the year’s biggest wealth gainer, beating even Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, who have tussled in 2021 for the title of world’s richest. Shares of all Adani group stocks, except one, have rallied at least 50% this year.

The surge in wealth dwarfs the $8.1 billion added by Adani’s compatriot and the richest person in Asia, Mukesh Ambani. It also underscores the rising heft of the self-made billionaire, who has lured investment from Total SA to Warburg Pincus. Adani has been rapidly expanding his conglomerate, adding ports, airports, data centers and coal mines in India, while doggedly proceeding with his controversial Carmichael coal project in Australia. “Adani has been consistently expanding its business in areas that are resilient to market cycles,” said Sunil Chandiramani, founder and chief executive officer at Nyka Advisory Services. “Now with the entry in data centers business, the group has also indicated its appetite for venturing into technology.” Adani Enterprises Ltd. signed a pact last month to develop 1 gigawatt of data center capacity in India.