Gautam Adani is first Asian to become world's third richest
What's the story
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani is on a roll. The 60-year-old businessman has become the world's third richest person by overtaking French mogul Bernard Arnault as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He now trails Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos of the US. Adani has amassed a fortune of $137.4 billion, of which $60.9 billion was added this year alone.
Context
Why does this story matter?
This is the first instance of an Asian person breaking into the top three rankings of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Mukesh Ambani (with a $91.9 billion fortune) and China's Jack Ma failed to do so. Adani's rise can be attributed to several factors, including his fast-expanding businesses and rapid diversification as well as the meteoric rise of the company shares.
Milestone
Adani became a centibillionaire this April
This February, Adani, a college dropout, surpassed Mukesh Ambani as the richest Asian. He became a centibillionaire (people with a net wealth of $100 billion or above) in April and overtook Bill Gates as the world's fourth-richest person in July. Last month, Adani's net worth rose to $113 billion, surpassing the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation by $230 million.
Success
Reasons behind his meteoric rise
Over the past few years, Adani has ventured into diverse businesses including coal, ports, media, alumina, cement, airports, and data centers. He is the owner of Mundra Port - the country's largest private-sector port. Adani Group has pledged to invest $70 billion to become the world's largest renewable-energy producer. Rising coal prices in recent months have also hastened his ascent.
Charity
Philanthropy by fellow billionaires have made things easier
Last month, Gates said that he would donate $20 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of his philanthropic initiatives. Stock market mogul Warren Buffett has also donated over $35 billion to charity. They now occupy fifth and 164th rankings, respectively on the Bloomberg wealth rankings. Adani too has pledged to donate $7.7 billion toward social causes.