Indian businessman Gautam Adani has overtaken Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to become the world’s fourth richest person, according to the Forbes real-time billionaires list.
The 60-year-old founder of Adani Group controls companies ranging from ports and aerospace to thermal energy and coal. The net worth of Adani and his family stood at $115.5 billion (Rs 9.2 lakh crore), while Gates’ total assets were worth $104.6 billion (Rs 8.3 lakh crore), according to the list.
The billionaires list is a dynamic one as total assets of those on it change based on fluctuations in the share price of their companies.
According to Forbes, Adani’s total wealth jumped sharply after Gates on Wednesday announced that he will be donating $20 billion (Rs 1.5 lakh crore) to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation this month. The donation is part of the foundation’s mission to increase its annual payout by 50% by 2026.
As of Thursday, Tesla founder Elon Musk holds the first spot on the Forbes list with a net worth of $235.8 billion (Rs 18.85 lakh crore). He had surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in January 2021.
On the second spot is Bernard Arnault, the French businessman and chairperson of luxury accessories brand Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. The third position is taken by Bezos.
Business magnates Larry Ellison, Warren Buffet, Google’s Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Reliance Industries chairperson Mukesh Ambani are among the top 10 on the list.
In February, Adani overtook Ambani to become Asia’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index ranking. Adani was worth $88.5 billion (approximately Rs 6.6 lakh crore) at that time.
In its largest-ever acquisition, the Adani Group in May said that it will buy Switzerland-based building material company Holcim’s stakes in Ambuja Cements and Associated Cement Companies.
The conglomerate set up a special purpose vehicle for the acquisition and agreed to buy the stakes for $10.5 billion (about Rs 81,556.12 crore).
In June, Adani and his family had pledged to donate Rs 60,000 crore for social causes to mark the tycoon’s 60th birthday, Business Standard reported.
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