Once among the top three world’s richest, Gautam Adani slipped to 30t position on the world billionaire index list after a US forensic audit firm Hindenburg Research released a report on January 24, 2023, alleging the Adani group of fraud and stock market manipulation.
Gautam Adani has a total personal wealth of $39.9 billion, as per Bloomberg Billionaires’ Index. According to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires Index, however, the hard-pressed tycoon is at the 37th spot and has a net worth of $33.7 billion. The gap between Adani and his rival Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is widening. Adani’s personal fortune is almost half of Mukesh Ambani’s wealth. Ambani is currently at the 10th spot on the Bloomberg global rich list and has a net worth of $81.7 billion. As per Forbes, the Reliance Industries chairman has a net worth of $84.1 billion and ranks eighth in the global rich list.
The drop in Gautam Adani’s personal wealth and Adani Group shares began after the US-based short seller Hindenburg Research accused the conglomerate of indulging in stock manipulation and accounting fraud. The short seller also accused the Adani Group of having substantial debt, indulging in share pledging, and having a precarious financial footing apart from running shell companies out of Mauritius, and round-tripping funds. It also accused Gautam Adani’s brother Vinod Adani of allegedly managing a network of offshore entities to facilitate fraud. The conglomerate has refuted Hindenburg’s charges and said these allegations were made with mala fide intentions and lack credibility. It added that this was a selective, manipulative, and incomplete disclosure of information and that Hindenburg did not do enough research.