Gautam Shantilal Adani is a billionaire and businessman from India who is the founder and chairman of the Adani Group.
Biography
- 24 June 1962 – was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat
- 1978 – After completing 10th grade at school, he set off for Mumbai with only a few hundred rupees in savings, where he worked for Mahendra Brothers as a diamond sorter for two years.
- At 18, Adani set up his brokerage business, earning him his first hundred thousand rupees. Gautam Adani dropped out of university and refused to work in his father’s textile shop.
Career
- 1981 – His elder brother invited Gautam to run the company.
- 1985 – began importing virgin polymers to support small businesses.
- 1988 – founded Adani Exports (now Adani Enterprises).
- 1995 – the company signed a contract to transfer the Mundra port.
- Among the many Gautam Adani organizations founded, Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports are major sector players. Between 2002 and March 2014, corporation’s revenue grew from $765 million to $8.8 billion.
- 2006 – Adani entered the energy market by launching electricity generation.
- 2009-2012 – the Gautam Adani Group emerged as one of India’s largest multinational conglomerates.
- 2011 – The company strengthened its position in Australia by purchasing the Abbot Point terminal in Queensland for $2 billion.
- 2020 – Adani Group acquires a 74% stake in the International Airport in Mumbai.
- 2021 – Adani announced a potential investment of $70 billion in green energy development.
- 2022 – Gautam Adani’s business empire has grown rapidly, expanding into sectors like renewable energy, ports, and data centers.
Politics
Adani has been a long-standing associate of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with whom he has steadily expanded his political and economic clout. He has gained control over crucial sectors of India’s economy, including ownership of the Mundra Port. Additionally, he is India’s leading airport operator and holds significant assets across various industries, such as power, cement, and renewable energy, through seven companies he owns.
When Narendra Modi, Adani’s long-time ally, headed the Indian government in 2014, it really drew attention to the entrepreneur’s ties to the prime minister. Both hail from the same state, and it was in parallel with Modi’s political career that Adani rapidly increased his influence in key sectors of the economy.
2024 – Adani Gautam congratulated Donald Trump on his election on social media and promised to invest $10 billion in the U.S.
Wealth
- 2022 – became $55 billion richer, outperforming all other billionaires.
- August 2022 – was ranked third among the world’s richest people.
The same year Gautam Adani’s net worth reached $152.1 billion, which places him among the top world billionaires.
Charity
June 2022 – to celebrate his 60th birthday, entrepreneur pledged $7.7 billion to philanthropic initiatives.
Family
Adani is married to Preeta Adani, a dentist by training and a board Company’s Adani Company. Couple has sons, their names are Karan and Jeet. Despite their success, the Gautam Adani family maintains a relatively private lifestyle. That’s why there is limited public information about Gautam Adani’s daughter, as she stays out of the media spotlight.
Crime
2020-2024 – The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported that, during this period, individuals involved in the scheme offered and promised over $250 million in bribes to government officials in India to secure solar energy contracts. Former employees of CDPQ allegedly deleted emails and agreed to provide false information to U.S. authorities to hinder the investigation.
In a parallel civil case, the SEC claimed that the bribes intended to compel the Indian government to purchase electricity at inflated prices, benefiting renewable energy firms Adani Green and Azure Power. U.S. prosecutors also charged the billionaire with participating in the $250 million corruption scheme.