New Delhi: Gautam Adani’s reentry into the exclusive group of individuals with fortunes surpassing $100 billion required a span of one year. The Indian mogul has regained much of his wealth after a short-seller attack sent it plunging in early 2023. On Wednesday, Adani’s net worth climbed $2.7 billion to $100.7 billion, the highest it’s been since Hindenburg Research accused his Adani Group of “brazen” market manipulation and fraud — allegations the Adani Group denied.
Shares of his flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. rose for an eighth day Wednesday following an earnings report last week that showed a 130% surge in profit. He’s now the 12th-richest person in the world, just one spot behind his compatriot, Mukesh Ambani, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
While Ambani’s fortune hit a record high earlier this month, Adani’s is still about $50 billion below its 2022 peak.
Adani’s wealth slumped by more than $80 billion in the month following the report, reaching a low of $37.7 billion. His conglomerate, which at one point lost more than $150 billion in market value, spent months wooing back investors and lenders, repaying debt and assuaging regulatory concerns.
Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners LLC poured about $4 billion into Adani Group companies last year, while the Qatar Investment Authority invested almost $500 million and TotalEnergies SE bet $300 million on a joint venture with Adani Green Energy Ltd., the conglomerate’s green arm. Earlier this week, people familiar with the discussions said Adani Green is in talks to raise about $500 million via dollar bonds in its first overseas issuance since the Hindenburg report.
After losing more wealth than anyone in 2023, Adani has regained $16.4 billion this year for one of the biggest advances among the super-rich tracked by Bloomberg.
