Gautam Shantilal Adani, a multibillionaire industrialist from India who was born on June 24, 1962, is in charge of developing and operating ports in his country as the founder and chairman of the Adani Group. According to reports, Adani is friendly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party administration. Since his companies have been awarded numerous energy and infrastructure contracts in India and abroad since Modi became India's prime minister, this has given rise to accusations of cronyism. Adani and his family's wealth had fallen by over 50% to an estimated US$54.2 billion, as of October 2023, after accusations of stock manipulation and fraud by American short selling activist firm Hindenburg Research[8]. Adani and his family had also dropped to the 23rd spot on the Forbes Real Time Billionaires list. In 2022, Times Magazine listed him among the top 100 global influencers.
Early life & Career
In Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on June 24, 1962, Adani was born into a Gujarati Jain family to parents Shantilal and Shantaben Adani. His siblings number 7. His parents had left their hometown of Tharad in Gujarat's northern region. His father ran a little business selling textiles. He received his education at Ahmedabad's Sheth Chimanlal Nagindas Vidyalaya. He enrolled in Gujarat University to pursue a bachelor's in commerce, but he left after the first year. Adani loved business, but he didn't like his father's textile company.
Political
Although Adani tries to keep his private affairs out of the public eye, he is well recognised for his friendship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is now in power. As a result of his companies receiving numerous government contracts for infrastructure and energy in India, cronyism accusations have been raised. With an Indian government auditor accusing Modi of providing Adani and other entrepreneurs with cheap fuel from a Gujarat state-run petrol company in 2012.
Both Adani and Modi have refuted claims of cronyism. Although The Economist warns that Adani's company is renowned for its "Byzantine" structure and murky finances, it calls the businessman a "master operator" who is adept at "navigating the difficult legal and political landscape of Indian capitalism."
Personal life
Priti Adani and Gautam Adani are wed. Jeet and Karan Adani are the couple's two sons. Adani and a friend, Shantilal Patel, were allegedly kidnapped in January 1998 and kept captive for ransom. The kidnapping was allegedly committed by Fazl-ur-Rehman and Bhogilal Darji, two former gangsters. After Adani and Patel ignored numerous court summonses to appear for depositions, they were found not guilty in an Indian court in 2018. On November 26, 2008, at 21:50, Adani was dining with another businessman in the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel's restaurant in Mumbai when terrorists struck the building. They were only 15 feet (4.6 metres) away from the terrorists.
Career In Business Empire
AMG Media Networks Limited (AMNL), a division of the Adani Group, announced in August 2022 that it intended to acquire RRPR Holding, which is the owner of 29.18% of the national news channel NDTV, and launched an open offer to acquire an additional 26%. The company's founders, former journalist Radhika Roy and her economist husband Prannoy Roy, were not informed of Adani's acquisition of his interest through a third party, according to a statement from NDTV, and the purchase was completed "without discussion, consent, or notice." Given that Adani is regarded as being close to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this move also sparked questions about journalistic independence in India. Adani was said to have the largest investment in NDTV as of December 2022.
Speaking at the Bloomberg India Economic Forum in November 2021, Adani declared that the company is investing US$70 billion in a new green energy venture. He provided updated information in July 2022 about how this investment will be used to construct three enormous factories: solar, electrolyzer, and wind turbine plants.
He surpassed Mukesh Ambani to become Asia's richest person in February 2022. In August 2022, Fortune ranked him as the third richest person in the world.
Through a foreign special-purpose corporation, the Adani family purchased Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC from Swiss building materials tycoon Holcim Group for $10.5 billion in May 2022.