December 17, 2024
NEW DELHI – Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani, and Adani Group chief Gautam Adani have dropped out of Bloomberg’s USD 100 billion club this year.
The duo ranked among India’s wealthiest and some of Asia’s richest individuals, and have been dropped due to various business challenges.
Ambani’s energy and retail sectors have been struggling, with investor concerns about rising debt weighing on the performance while Adani’s business empire has been shaken by a US Department of Justice investigation that could reduce funding opportunities and complicate the securing of new contracts.
According to Bloomberg’s wealth index, the wealth of many of India’s richest individuals has continued to rise, with the 20 wealthiest adding USD 67.3 billion to their fortunes since the beginning of the year.
The largest gains were seen by technology mogul Shiv Nadar, who added USD 10.8 billion, and Savitri Jindal, whose family controls the Jindal Group, with an increase of USD 10.1 billion.
Bloomberg said Ambani’s fortune peaked at USD 120.8 billion in July. However, his company Reliance faced setbacks, including weaker earnings from its energy division and slower consumer demand in retail.
Ambani’s fortune stood at USD 96.7 billion as of December 13.For Adani, a probe by US authorities in November over alleged bribery has brought unwanted international attention.
As per the Bloomberg’s index, Adani’s net worth peaked at USD 122.3 billion in June, after taking measures to strengthen the company’s financial position following the Hindenburg controversy. However, his wealth has since diminished to USD 82.1 billion.