The Elite game: Gautam Adani became world's second richest person, but didn't last for long!

(This article is authored by Alar) 

Within a month of becoming the world's third richest person, India's Gautam Adani hit the second spot on Friday by surpassing the wealth of Amazon's Jeff Bezos. As the record holder of becoming the first Indian and Asian to enter the top-three club, Adani rewrote history after holding the second spot, just below Elon Musk. 

However, this trend didn't last long as Adani's fortune arrowed down later and he ended his day by plunging to his earlier spot - the third richest person in the world. French businessman Bernard Arnault defeated Adani and won the second spot while Jeff Bezos has encountered a new low in his fortune for the first time in decades as he currently stands at the fourth spot. 

When Adani went to the second spot, his net worth was $155.7 billion and though there is a huge margin between him and Musk, Adani was too close to his following contender and while the development that Adani has become the second richest man in the world has drawn huge attention, it was followed by a plunge for his fortune in the elite game. 

According to Forbes's real-time billionaire list, Adani went past Jeff Bezos and later, there was a race between Adani and Bernard Arnault for the second spot. While there was a growth in Adani's growth during the dawn, the story was not the same in the dusk as his wealth came down to $152 billion from $155.7 billion within some hours in the wake of the downfall in Sensex. 

In the end, Adani returned to the third spot with a net worth of $152.2 billion while Bernard Arnault finished second with a net worth of $153.2 billion, a billion dollars more than Adani and as the race was too close, the game could be changing in the coming days with the fact that no one can get close to Elon Musk's wealth as his net worth is a whopping $273.5 billion. 

2022 has been a year of prosperity for Adani as his wealth has been increasing at a skyrocketing pace. He surpassed Microsoft's Bill Gates to become the fourth richest person and recently, he also passed the net worth of Bernard Arnault to become the third richest person. As per the latest Forbes report, Adani stands in third place and his compatriot Mukesh Ambani is in eighth place with a net worth of $91.4 billion. 

As the Chairperson of Adani Group, Gautam Adani's business empire stretches its hands across all the important fields both in India and overseas. His conglomerate has been into infrastructure, energy, coal, FMCG, cements, and airport management. The largest port in India is under the control of 60-year-old Gautam Adani in his native Gujarat. The businesses owned by Gautam Adani in India are focused on a variety of industries, from green energy to airports. 

At a time when the government is promoting green energy in the nation, the business tycoon has recently focused on alternative energy. There are six publicly traded businesses owned by the Adani Group in India, including Adani Power, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Enterprises. "After the listing of the renewable energy company Adani Green, Gautam Adani’s Wealth increased nearly five times to $81 billion from $17 billion in 2020," a report by Hurun India earlier this year noted. 

It is pertinent to note that the Indian billionaire wants to be the largest producer of green energy in the world and has previously stated that he will invest up to $70 billion in renewable energy projects, according to Forbes.  In honour of his 60th birthday earlier in June, Adani promised to donate Rs 60,000 crore to charity. His logistics-to-energy conglomerate had released a statement saying that the donations would be used for healthcare, education, and skill development.

In the midst of making donations, his net worth didn't have a major hit and as per the trend, he may beat Bernard Arnault and come to the second spot anytime. It has been reported that Adani's net worth is over Rs 12 lakh crore in Indian currency and in the last two and half years, his wealth has increased over 13 times.

 

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