From Forbes to your local daily, the one name that is making headlines around the globe almost every single day in the latter half of the year 2022 is none other than that of Gautam Adani. Well, why should not this name be there on every news channel to everyone’s newsfeed too on the social media, after all he is one of the very few first generation billionaire! The Indian billionaire industrialist who is the chairperson and founder of Adani Group, Gautam Shantilal Adani was born 24th of June 1962 in a Jain Family to Shri Shantilal Adani and Smt. Shantaben Adani in one of the most vibrant city of India and Gujarat’s pride Ahmedabad. In the early days of his life, he was educated at Sheth Chimanlal Nagindas Vidyalaya School in Ahmedabad. Gautam enrolled for a bachelor’s degree in commerce at Gujarat University; however, he dropped out after the second year. Since, this young billionaire in making was keen on carrying out business, but not his father’s textile business!
As of December 2022, with a net worth of $ 138.1 Billion according to Forbes and $ 133 Billion according to Bloomberg, Gautam Adani is the richest person in Asia and the second richest person of the world, as he is standing only after Elon Musk. His Adani Group is a ‘Multinational Conglomerate’ involved in port development and operations in India. He is also the president of Adani Foundation, which is a Non Profit Organization. Today, the world knows him but his journey to this spot was not at all easy as he made a very humble start. As a teenager, Gautam moved to Mumbai in 1978 to work as a diamond sorter for Mahendra Brothers. In 1981, his elder brother Mahasukhbhai Adani bought a plastics unit in Ahmedabad and invited him to manage the operations. Fortunately, this venture turned out to be Gautam Adani’s gateway to global trading through polyvinyl chloride (PVC) imports.
After that, Gautam Adani only moved ahead with his hard work and dedication as he could see his dreams of being a successful businessperson coming true. In 1985, he started importing primary polymers for small-scale industries and in the year 1988, Adani established Adani Exports, now known as Adani Enterprises, the holding company of the Adani Group. Well originally, the company dealt in agricultural and power commodities. Whereas, in the year 1991 something great happened with Gautam Adani, as the Economic Liberalization Policies (popularly known as LPG Policy) turned out to be favourable for his company and he started expanding the businesses into trading of metals, textiles, and agro products!
Interestingly in the year 1995, Gautam Adani earned the contract from the Government of Gujarat for the State Government announced managerial outsourcing of the Mundra Port and in the same year, he set up the first jetty. Originally operated by Mundra Port & Special Economic Zone, the operations were transferred to Adani Ports & SEZ (APSEZ). Today, the company is the largest private multi-port operator. Mundra Port is the largest private sector port in India, with the capacity of handling close to 210 million tons of cargo per annum. In the year 1996, Adani founded the power business arm of the Adani Group, Adani Power. Adani Power holds thermal power plants with a capacity of 4620 MW, the largest private thermal power producer of the country.
Whereas in the year 2006, Gautam Adani entered the power generation business and from 2009 to 2012, he acquired Abbot Point Port in Australia and Carmichael Coalmine in Queensland. In May 2020, Adani won the World’s Largest Solar Bid by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) worth US $6 billion. Adani Green will take up the 8000 MW photovoltaic power plant project whereas Adani Solar will establish 2000 MW of additional solar cell and module manufacturing capacity. In September 2020, Adani acquired a 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport, which is India’s second busiest after Delhi’s IGI Airport. In November 2021, while speaking at the Bloomberg India Economic Forum, Adani said the group is investing US $ 70 Billion in a new green energy business. In July 2022, he offered new details on how this investment will be utilized to build three giant factories – Solar, Electrolyser (to make green hydrogen), and Wind Turbine plants!
Now in February 2022, Gautam Adani became Asia’s richest person, surpassing another Indian billionaire industrialist, Shri Mukesh Ambani. In August 2022, he was named the 3rd richest person in the world by Fortune, whereas currently he is the 2nd richest person in the world. In May 2022, Adani family acquired Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC from Holcim Group for $ 10.5 Billion, through an overseas special purpose entity. In August 2022, AMG Media Networks Limited (AMNL), a unit of Adani Group, declared that it planned to buy RRPR Holding, owner of 29.18% of national news broadcaster NDTV, and made an open offer to buy a further 26%. Moreover, it would not be wrong to say that Shri Gautam Adani left no field un-flagged and has made India proud with his fearless business ventures!
Written By NEEL PREET – Author of the Books, Voice From The East (2016); Journey With Time Place And Circumstances (2018) & Indian Defence Files (2021).