India's Adani briefly listed as world's second-richest person / Photo: SAM PANTHAKY - AFP/File
-
Typhoon Fung-wong leaves flooded Philippine towns in its wake
-
From Club Med to Beverly Hills: Assinie, the Ivorian Riviera
-
The 'ordinary' Arnie? Glen Powell reboots 'The Running Man'
-
Typhoon exposes centuries-old shipwreck off Vietnam port
-
French court to decide if ex-president Sarkozy can leave jail
-
China lifts sanctions on US units of South Korea ship giant Hanwha
-
Japan death row inmate's sister still fighting, even after release
-
Taylor sparks Colts to Berlin win as Pats streak hits seven
-
Dreyer, Pellegrino lift San Diego to 4-0 MLS Cup playoff win over Portland
-
Indonesia names late dictator Suharto a national hero
-
Fourth New Zealand-West Indies T20 washed out
-
Tanzania Maasai fear VW 'greenwashing' carbon credit scheme
-
Chinese businesswoman faces jail after huge UK crypto seizure
-
Markets boosted by hopes for deal to end US shutdown
-
Amazon poised to host toughest climate talks in years
-
Ex-jihadist Syrian president due at White House for landmark talks
-
Saudi belly dancers break taboos behind closed doors
-
The AI revolution has a power problem
-
Big lips and botox: In Trump's world, fashion and makeup get political
-
NBA champion Thunder rally to down Grizzlies
-
US senators reach deal that could end record shutdown
-
Weakening Typhoon Fung-wong exits Philippines after displacing 1.4 million
-
Lenny Wilkens, Basketball Hall of Famer as player and coach, dies
-
Empire Metals Limited - Speaking at TZMI Congress
-
Sir Dave Lewis Appointed Diageo plc CEO
-
Griffin wins PGA Mexico title for third victory of the year
-
NFL makes successful return to Berlin, 35 years on
-
Lewandowski hat-trick helps Barca punish Real Madrid slip
-
George warns England against being overawed by the All Blacks
-
Lewandowski treble helps Barca beat Celta, cut gap on Real Madrid
-
Neves late show sends PSG top of Ligue 1, Strasbourg down Lille
-
Inter go top of Serie A after Napoli slip-up
-
Bezos's Blue Origin postpones rocket launch over weather
-
Hamilton upbeat despite 'nightmare' at Ferrari
-
Taylor sparks Colts to Berlin win, Pats win streak hits seven
-
Alcaraz and Zverev make winning starts at ATP Finals
-
Protests suspend opening of Nigeria heritage museum
-
Undav brace sends Stuttgart fourth, Frankfurt win late in Bundesliga
-
Roma capitalise on Napoli slip-up to claim Serie A lead
-
Liverpool up for the fight despite Man City masterclass, says Van Dijk
-
Two MLB pitchers indicted on manipulating bets on pitches
-
Wales rugby captain Morgan set to be sidelined by shoulder injury
-
After storming Sao Paulo podium, 'proud' Verstappen aims to keep fighting
-
US flights could 'slow to a trickle' as shutdown bites: transport secretary
-
Celtic close on stumbling Scottish leaders Hearts
-
BBC chief resigns after row over Trump documentary
-
Norris extends title lead in Sao Paulo, Verstappen third from pit-lane
-
Norris wins in Sao Paulo to extend title lead over Piastri
-
Man City rout Liverpool to mark Guardiola milestone, Forest boost survival bid
-
Man City crush Liverpool to mark Guardiola's 1,000 match
NYSE - LSE
India's Adani briefly listed as world's second-richest person
Indian industrialist Gautam Adani briefly became the world's second-richest person on the Forbes real-time billionaire tracker on Friday, weeks after becoming the first Asian to break into the top three.
The self-made billionaire's net worth surged $4 billion overnight to $154 billion, according to Forbes, ranking him ahead of LVMH's Bernard Arnault and Amazon's Jeff Bezos.
Tesla founder Elon Musk remained well out in front with a fortune of more than $270 billion.
Arnault -- who at times held the top spot in May 2021 -- and Adani traded the number two position during the day as the share prices of their companies fluctuated.
Adani, 60, made his fortune in ports and commodities trading and now operates India's second-largest conglomerate with interests ranging from coal mining and edible oils to airports and news media.
His ballooning net worth reflects a stratospheric rise in the market capitalisation of his publicly listed companies, as investors back the Adani Group's aggressive expansion of old and new businesses.
Shares in the flagship Adani Enterprises -- of which the billionaire owns 75 percent -- have soared more than 2,700 percent since March 2020, and doubled in value in the past six months.
Stock price surges in other group companies including Adani Transmission, Adani Power, Adani Ports and Adani Green Energy catapulted Adani past fellow Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani this year.
Analyst estimates indicated the market capitalisation of Adani's seven listed companies also briefly overtook those of the Tata group on Friday morning, making the Adani Group India's largest conglomerate.
Born in the city of Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat to a middle-class family, Adani dropped out of college to work in the diamond industry before starting his export business in 1988.
In 1995, he won a contract to build and operate a commercial shipping port at Mundra in Gujarat, which has since grown to become India's largest port.
At the same time, Adani expanded into thermal power generation and coal mining in India and overseas.
In recent years, the conglomerate has forayed into petrochemicals, cement, data centres and copper refining, in addition to establishing a renewable energy business with ambitious targets.
Recent investments in Indian news media and a bid for 5G airwaves this year have raised speculation that the billionaire's empire could soon impinge on sectors dominated by Ambani's Reliance Industries.
But Adani's rapid expansion into capital-intensive businesses has also raised financial alarms, with Fitch Group's CreditSights last week reiterating that they "remain concerned over the Adani Group's leverage".
H.E.Young--AMWN
