Mukesh Ambani surges past wealthiest European to become world’s fourth richest

Reliance Industries’ chairman is now worth $80.6bn, after amassing $22bn this year

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, has become the fourth-richest person in the world. EPA 

Mukesh Ambani has surged past Europe’s wealthiest man, making him the world’s fourth-richest person.

Reliance Industries’ chairman is now worth $80.6 billion (Dh293.6bn), after amassing $22bn this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That gives him a bigger wealth pile than France’s Bernard Arnault, whose LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton has suffered from customers curbing high-end fashion purchases faster than the company can cut costs.

India’s richest person has already surpassed some of the biggest tycoons in recent weeks – a list that includes Silicon Valley titans such as Elon Musk and Alphabet co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, as well as the so-called Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett.

While the conglomerate with a huge energy empire was slammed by a slump in demand for oil amid Covid-19, its shares have more than doubled from a low in March as its digital unit got billions in investments from companies including Facebook and Google.

Mr Ambani has slowly been shifting his focus to e-commerce, with tech giants seeking to take a piece of India’s fast-growing digital business. Google said last month it will spend $10bn in the coming years to help accelerate the adoption of digital technologies in the world’s second-most populous nation.

Meanwhile, with LVMH shares down this year, Mr Arnault has become the biggest loser among the world’s 500 richest people. His net worth has plunged $25.1bn to $80.2bn.