Indian tycoon Gautam Adani has added more billions to his wealth than anyone else in the world this year on the back of investor excitement around his ports-to-power plants conglomerate.
The net worth of Mr Adani, a first-generation entrepreneur who rarely speaks publicly, has jumped by US$16.2 billion (S$21.8 billion) this year to US$50 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
This has made him the year’s biggest wealth gainer, beating even Mr Elon Musk, who has tussled with Mr Jeff Bezos for the title of the world’s richest.
Shares of all of Adani Group stocks, except one, have rallied at least 50 per cent this year.
The surge in wealth dwarfs the US$8.1 billion added by Mr Adani’s compatriot and the richest person in Asia, Mr Mukesh Ambani. It underscores the rising heft of the self-made billionaire, who has lured investment from companies including Total to Warburg Pincus.
Mr Adani has rapidly expanded his conglomerate, adding ports, airports, data centres and coal mines in India, while proceeding with his controversial Carmichael coal project in Australia.
Mr Sunil Chandiramani, founder and chief executive of Nyka Advisory Services, said: “Adani has been consistently expanding its business in areas that are resilient to market cycles.”
Adani Enterprises signed a pact last month to develop one gigawatt of data centre capacity in India.
Adani Total Gas, the top performer in the group, has jumped almost 97 per cent this year, while the flagship Adani Enterprises has advanced 87 per cent.
Adani Transmission is up 77 per cent, while Adani Power and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone have gained over 50 per cent this year. Adani Green Energy, after rising over 500 per cent last year, has risen 10 per cent so far.