Indian tycoon Gautam Adani has added more billions to his wealth than any one else in the world this year.
The wealth gain came on the back of investor excitement around his ports-to-power plants conglomerate, reports NDTV.
Adani is a first-generation entrepreneur who rarely speaks publicly.
According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his wealth has jumped $16.2 billion in 2021 to $50 billion.
This has made him the year’s biggest wealth gainer, beating Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
Shares of all Adani group stocks, except one, have rallied at least 50% this year.
The surge in wealth dwarfs the $8.1 billion added by Adani’s compatriot and the richest person in Asia, Mukesh Ambani.
It also underscores the rising heft of the self-made billionaire, who has lured investment from Total SA to Warburg Pincus.
Adani has been rapidly expanding his conglomerate.
He has added ports, airports, data centres and coal mines in India.
In Australia, he has also doggedly proceeded with his controversial Carmichael coal project.
“Adani has been consistently expanding its business in areas that are resilient to market cycles,” said Sunil Chandiramani, founder and chief executive officer at Nyka Advisory Services.
“Now with the entry in data centres business, the group has also indicated its appetite for venturing into technology.”
Adani Enterprises Ltd. signed a pact last month to develop 1 gigawatt of data centre capacity in India.
Adani Total Gas Ltd. has jumped 96% this year while the flagship Adani Enterprises has advanced 90%.
Adani Transmission Ltd. is up 79%.
Adani Power Ltd. and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones Ltd. have gained more than 52% this year.
Adani Green Energy Ltd., after rising over 500% last year, is up 12% so far.