Gautam Shantilal Adani(born 24 June 1962) is an Indianbillionaireindustrialist who is the founder and chairman ofAdani Group, amultinational conglomerateinvolved in port development and operations in India.[2][3]
Adani has been described as being close to the Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modiand his rulingBharatiya Janata Party.[3][4][5]This has led to allegations ofcronyism,[6]as his firms have won many energy and infrastructure contracts in India and abroad after Modi became the Prime Minister of India.[7]In January 2023, following accusations ofstock manipulationand fraud by American short selling activist firmHindenburg Research,[8]Adani’s and his family’s fortune has plummeted by over 50%[9][10][11][12]to an estimated US$50.2 billion, as of March 2023, while falling to the 24th place on theForbesReal Time Billionaires list.[13]
As a teenager, Adani moved toMumbaiin 1978 to work as a diamond sorter for Mahendra Brothers.[19]
In 1981, his elder brother Mahasukhbhai Adani bought a plastics unit in Ahmedabad and invited him to manage the operations. This venture turned out to be Adani’s gateway to global trading throughpolyvinyl chloride(PVC) imports.[17]
In 1985, he started importing primary polymers for small-scale industries. In 1988, Adani established Adani Exports, now known asAdani Enterprises, the holding company of the Adani Group. Originally, the company dealt in agricultural and power commodities.[17]
In 1991, the economic liberalization policies turned out to be favorable for his company and he started expanding the businesses into trading of metals, textiles, and agro products.[17][20]
In 1994, theGovernment of Gujaratannounced managerial outsourcing of theMundra Portand in 1995, Adani got the contract.[4]
In 1995, he set up the first jetty. Originally operated by Mundra Port & Special Economic Zone, the operations were transferred toAdani Ports & SEZ(APSEZ). Today, the company is the largest private multi-port operator.Mundra Portis the largest private sector port in India, with the capacity of handling close to 210 million tons of cargo per annum.[21][22]
In 1996, the power business arm of the Adani Group, Adani Power, was founded by Adani. Adani Power holdsthermal power plantswith a capacity of 4620MW, the largest privatethermal powerproducer of the country.[23]
In 2002, Adani was arrested by Delhi Police in execution of a non-bailable warrant(NBW), following a cheating complaint by a top of official of M S Shoes. The court withdrew the NBW the next day, after the court was informed that the parties were negotiating for a compromise.[24]
In 2006, Adani entered the power generation business.[25]From 2009 to 2012, he acquiredAbbot PointPort in Australia andCarmichael coal mineinQueensland.[26]
In 2012, theSerious Fraud Investigation Office(SFIO) had filed a charge sheet against twelve accused including the Adani for cheating & criminal conspiracy related to purchase and sale of shares. According to SFIO, Adani Agro allegedly provided funds and shares for running illegal activities. A local court in Mumbai discharged Adani & other accused of this case in May, 2014.[27]However, in 2020, a Mumbai sessions court overturned the clean chit to Adani in this case.[28]
In May 2020, Adani won the world’s largest solar bid by theSolar Energy Corporation of India(SECI) worth US$6 billion. The 8000MWphotovoltaic power plantproject will be taken up byAdani Green; Adani Solar will establish 2000MW of additional solar cell and module manufacturing capacity.[29][30]
In September 2020, Adani acquired a 74% stake inMumbai International Airport, India’s second busiest afterDelhi.[31]
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.[25][32][33]In July 2022, he offered new details on how this investment will be utilized to build three giant factories – solar, electrolyzer (to make green hydrogen), wind turbine plants.[34][35]
In February 2022, he became Asia’s richest person, surpassingMukesh Ambani.[36]In August 2022, he was named the 3rd richest person in the world byFortune.[37]
In May 2022, Adani family acquiredAmbuja Cementsand its subsidiaryACCfrom Swiss building materials giantHolcim Groupfor $10.5 billion, through an overseasspecial-purpose entity.[38]
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 broadcasterNDTV, and made an open offer to buy a further 26%. In a statement, NDTV said that Adani acquired his stake via a third party without informing the company’s founders, former journalistRadhika Royand her economist husbandPrannoy Roy, and that the deal was done “without discussion, consent or notice.”[39]This bid also raised concern regarding editorial independence in India, since Adani is considered to be close to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s rulingBharatiya Janata Party.[3][40]By December 2022, Adani was described as controlling the largest shareholding in NDTV.[41][42]The Economistsaid that before Adani bought NDTV, the news channel was “critical of the government but is now supine.”[5]
