- Name: Gautam Adani
- Full Name : Gautam Shantilal Adani
- Father: Shantilal Adani
- Mother: Shantaben Adani
- DOB: June 24, 1962
- Age: 62 years
- Place: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
- Gautam Adani net worth: 5,810 crores USD
- Family member: 6
Children: Karan Adani (CEO of Adani Ports & SEZ), Jeet Adani (Vice President, Adani Group)
Spouse: Priti Adani (Chairperson of Adani Foundation)
The creator of the multinational company Adani Group, this Indian businessman was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on June 24, 1962.
Adani, who became one of the richest people in the world after rising from a poor mercantile family, won widespread acclaim throughout India for his rags-to-riches story. When an activist short-selling business accused the Adani Group of fraud in 2023, he lost tens of billions of dollars, after briefly being the richest person in Asia in 2022. The Adani family’s net wealth was $116 billion as of October 9, 2024, when he recovered.Adani’s affiliation with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) makes him one of the most controversial billionaires in India. Adani regularly cites “nation building” as the driving force behind his business strategy, which the Adani Group defines on its website as “helping build world-class infrastructure capabilities to help accelerate the growth of India.” His tight links to the party are not accidental. The main pillars of Adani’s commercial empire, Mundra Port and the Adani Special Economic Zone that surrounds it, were acquired and developed in collaboration with the Gujarat state government. During crucial periods in the Adani Group’s development, the BJP controlled the Gujarat state government, and as a result, the BJP and the Adani Group rose together in a mutually beneficial partnership.
Family and personal life:
Adani was from a Gujarati Jains family. His parents were Shantilal Adani, a textile businessman, and Shanta Adani; he was the seventh of their eight children.
The Adani Foundation, the charitable arm of the Adani Group, was chaired by Priti Vora, a dentist, whom Adani married in 1986. Both Karan and Jeet, their two sons, have prominent roles within the Adani Group corporation.
Business career:
After quitting school at the age of sixteen, Adani entered the diamond industry in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1978, marking the start of his career. He started dealing diamonds in 1979 and earned his first million rupees by 1982. He went back to Ahmedabad the same year to work at his brother Mansukhlal’s plastics firm.
In 1983, the family firm started importing polyvinyl chloride to satisfy its needs. The corporation benefited greatly from the 1985 easing of import licenses by the union government. In order to control the flow of its steadily increasing imports and exports, the Adanis established partnership businesses in 1988. The Gujarat State Export Corporation later provided assistance. Adani continued to profit from broad public policy developments in the 1990s. Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao’s government started enacting an economic liberalisation agenda in 1991, which sped up the nation’s industrial development. Gujarat State used its ports to draw in business as foreign investment flooded into India, and in 1995 it started offering port projects for sale to private firms for joint venture development. The Mundra port was developed by the Adani company and opened for business in 1998.
Start of political association:
Throughout the 2000s, Adani’s commercial ties with the state of Gujarat became more friendly. Early in the decade, Adani was among the state’s businesspeople that rescued Gujarat’s troubled chief minister (2001–14), Narendra Modi, who was enmeshed in scandal despite leading the state’s thriving economy. In particular, Modi came under fire for his lack of action to prevent the 2002 Gujarat riots that killed over 1,000 people, the most of whom were Muslims.
India’s influential trade group, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), criticised Modi in 2003 for his handling of the riots and threatened to withdraw its investments from Gujarat. Despite the incident, Adani not only kept making investments in Gujarat but also assisted in the establishment of a new group called the Resurgent Group of Gujarat, which lessened the power of CII in the state. The yearly Vibrant Gujarat summit, which gathered business leaders to promote cooperation in Gujarati investment, was founded by him as well. Gujarat’s quick industrialisation and, in comparison to the rest of India, its business-friendly climate played a big role in Modi’s eventual ascent to the prime ministership.
Adani saw one of India’s biggest catastrophes of the twenty-first century on November 26, 2008. As part of a series of attacks around the city, he had been eating at one of Mumbai’s most opulent hotels, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, when gunmen stormed the establishment (see Mumbai terrorist attacks of 2008). The next morning, he and scores of other hotel visitors were saved by the National Security Guard.
Relations with BJP-led union government:
In the meantime, Modi persisted in supporting Adani and his conglomerate. Modi used Adani’s private jet to travel to New Delhi following his election as prime minister in May 2014. After being criticized for this, Adani claimed that Modi had paid for the service, but it was nonetheless clear to investors that he stood to benefit from Modi’s rise: stock prices in Adani’s businesses soared.
The new union government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party gave Adani his first significant respite in July 2014. He obtained environmental approvals for the Mundra special economic zone owned by the Adani Group. The Gujarat High Court ruled in January of that year that the Adani Group’s special economic zone was unlawful as it had not received the necessary approvals years prior.
When the union government decided to privatise six airports in 2018, the controversy surrounding Adani’s pursuit of infrastructure projects intensified. All six contracts were awarded to Adani. His successful bids led to accusations of cronyism, but the government maintained that the process had been transparent and that the Adani Group had won fairly by bidding aggressively.
The Adani Group made a number of mergers and acquisitions in the next years, adding businesses in data technology, agriculture, cement, and other sectors to the conglomerate. The early 2020s were its most expansive time. As a significant stakeholder in his businesses, Adani’s net worth increased from around $10 billion to $125 billion between 2020 and the end of 2022. Adani came to an agreement in late 2022 to acquire a majority stake in New Delhi Television Ltd. (NDTV), one of the leading news media organisations in India.
Hindenburg controversy:
According to a January 2023 analysis by activist short-selling research company Hindenburg Research, the Adani Group has committed serious fraud and stock manipulation. Investments in the conglomerate were sold off as a result of the news, and the company’s stock market value dropped by almost $50 billion in a matter of days (it subsequently increased to $153 billion before rising again). The research and its timing were described as “a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India” by the Adani Group, which also accused Hindenburg Research of having a conflict of interest.
Hindenburg Research published a second study in 2024, this time claiming that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), India’s market regulator, had invested in offshore funds connected to Adani’s brother Vinod Adani. As of October 2024, SEBI was looking into the matter.
Fraud charges:
Adani was charged in New York in November 2024 for allegedly participating in a bribery conspiracy. He and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar Adani, were charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with allegedly agreeing to pay $250 million to Indian government officials in order to raise money from American investors and secure contracts for his renewable energy company, Adani Green Energy.
Other achievements:
Here are some of Gautam Adani’s major achievements beyond building the Adani Group into a global business empire:
Business Achievements:
- Founder & Chairman of Adani Group – Built India’s largest infrastructure conglomerate with businesses in energy, ports, logistics, airports, and more.
- World’s Largest Solar Power Developer (2021) – Adani Group became the largest solar energy company globally.
- India’s Biggest Private Port Operator – Owns and operates 13 ports across India, including Mundra Port, the largest in the country.
- Largest Private Airport Operator – Controls 7 major Indian airports, handling over 200 million passengers annually.
- Adani Wilmar IPO (2022) – Successfully launched one of India’s biggest FMCG IPOs.
- Green Energy Expansion – Plans to invest $100 billion in renewable energy over the next decade.
Wealth & Global Recognition:
- Richest Person in Asia (2022 & 2023) – Became Asia’s richest man, surpassing Mukesh Ambani.
- Second Richest Person in the World (Sept 2022) – Briefly ranked No. 2 on Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.
- Forbes Billionaires List (2023 & 2024) – Consistently ranked among the world’s wealthiest.
Awards & Honors:
- Global Visionary of Sustainable Business (2022) – Recognized for contributions to renewable energy.
- Fortune India’s Most Powerful Businessman – Featured multiple times for his impact on India’s economy.
Philanthropy & Contributions:
- ₹60,000 Crore Donation (2022) – One of India’s largest charity donations, marking his 60th birthday.
- Adani Foundation – Works in education, healthcare, and rural development, benefiting millions.
