Gautam Adani's net worth plummets as stock rout hits $74bn

The Indian tycoon has dropped out of the world’s top 10 billionaires list after his personal fortune fell to $84.4bn as shares in Adani Group companies fell amid accusations of fraud by Hindenburg Research

Gautam Adani has lost $36.1 billion from his net worth since the year began, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Reuters

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s net worth plummeted further as the shares of most companies in his eponymous group continued to fall after US investor Hindenburg Research accused the conglomerate of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud.

The tycoon's fortune fell by $8.21 billion to $84.4 billion on Tuesday amid the fallout from the allegations. Since January 1, he has lost $36.1 billion from his net worth.

Mr Adani is now the world’s 11th richest person and no longer a member of the exclusive $100 billion club, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. However, he continues to be Asia’s richest person, according to the index.

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is in 12th position, with a net worth of $82.2 billion.

A rout in shares of the Adani conglomerate has cost India its spot among the world’s five biggest equity markets, as the south Asian country’s market capitalisation dropped below France’s on Monday to $3.2 trillion, according to Bloomberg.

Other billionaires such as Tesla co-founder Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and FTX’s Sam Friedman-Rich have also seen their personal fortunes nosedive amid a steep market sell-off in Big Tech and risk aversion towards cryptocurrencies, respectively.

Mr Musk broke the world record for the biggest wealth loss in history after shedding $182 billion from his net worth since November 2021, according to a report by Guinness World Records earlier this month.

Shares of companies under the Adani Group umbrella started falling last week after Hindenburg Research said in a research report that it was shorting the conglomerate’s stocks based on its two-year investigation.

The group raised concerns about the conglomerate’s debt levels and use of tax havens.

The market sell-off wiped $74 billion off the market value of Mr Adani’s companies as of the close of trading on Monday, according to Bloomberg.

The share price of the group's flagship business, Adani Enterprises, remains more than 25 per cent lower in the month to date, Refinitiv data showed.

Adani Enterprises closed 4.76 per cent higher in Monday’s session amid a sell-off for most other Adani affiliate companies. It faces a crucial test this week, with a follow-on share offering.

World's richest people in 2022 — in pictures

Late on Sunday, the Adani Group fired back at Hindenburg, saying in a 413-page response that it had complied with all local laws and had made the necessary regulatory disclosures.

Despite the market volatility, International Holding Company, the UAE’s most-valuable listed company, will invest Dh1.4 billion ($381 million) in Mr Adani's conglomerate’s follow-on share sale, it said on Monday.

Mr Adani was one of the biggest wealth-gainers in 2022, adding $42.2 billion to his net worth to overtake fellow tycoons such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

He started climbing the ranks of the world’s richest in April last year when shares in his listed companies rocketed.

Mr Adani ended 2022 as the world’s third-richest person, with a fortune of $119 billion.

A first-generation entrepreneur who started out as a diamond trader in Mumbai in the 1980s, Mr Adani helped to run his brother’s plastics business in his home state of Gujarat before setting up Adani Enterprises as an agricultural commodities trader in 1988.

Over the past two decades, the group has diversified into ports, power generation and distribution, airports, data centres and digital services.

“Today, he is one of the 100 most influential businessmen worldwide, both in the shipping trade and infrastructure industry,” according to Celebrity Net Worth, which tracks the wealth and finances of the rich and famous.

Bernard Arnault, chairman of French luxury group LVMH, continues to hold the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $189 billion. He has added $26.8 billion to his fortune so far this year.

Mr Musk, who shed a whopping $138 billion from his personal fortune in 2022, is the world’s second-wealthiest person with a net worth of $160 billion.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is now the third-richest person with a net worth of $124 billion.

The world’s top 15 richest people

1. Bernard Arnault — $189 billion
2. Elon Musk — $160 billion
3. Jeff Bezos — $124 billion
4. Bill Gates — $111 billion
5. Warren Buffett — $107 billion
6. Larry Ellison — $99.5 billion
7. Larry Page — $90 billion
8. Steve Ballmer — $86.9 billion
9. Sergey Brin — $86.4 billion
10. Carlos Slim — $85.7 billion
11. Gautam Adani — $84.4 billion
12. Mukesh Ambani — $82.2 billion
13. Francoise Meyers — $82.1 billion
14. Zhong Shanshan — $69 billion
15. Charles Koch — $68 billion