Gautam Shantilal Adani (born 24 June 1962) is an Indian billionaire industrialist, who is the founder and chairman of the Adani Group, a multinational conglomerate involved in port development and operations in India.
Adani has been described as being close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and to his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government. This has led to allegations of cronyism, as his firms have won many energy and infrastructure contracts in India and abroad after Modi became the Prime Minister of India. In January 2023, following accusations of stock manipulation and fraud by American short selling activist firm Hindenburg Research, Adani’s and his family’s fortune has plummeted by over 50% to an estimated US$50.2 billion, as of March 2023, while falling to the 24th place on the Forbes Real Time Billionaires list. Times Magazine included him in the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.
Biography
Gautam Adani was born in the western Indian state of Gujarat. After dropping out of college as a teenager, worked in Mumbai’s diamond trade before returning to his home state.
He made his foray into global trading when he imported polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, for his brother’s plastic business. In 1988, he set up Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship company, to import and export commodities.
Adani Enterprises gained approval from the Gujarat government in 1994 to set up a harbor facility to handle its own cargo at Mundra Port. Sensing the potential in the project, Adani decided to turn it into a commercial port. He built rail and road links to it by individually negotiating with more than 500 landowners across India to create the largest port in India. Adani got into power generation in 2009.
The billionaire was held for ransom by bandits in 1997, according to his Mundra Port website. When terrorists attacked Mumbai 11 years later, Adani was among the hostages held at the seafront Taj hotel, according to the website.
In January 2023, New York-based short seller Hindenburg Research accused Adani Group of long-running stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Adani Group rejected the allegations. Subsequent declines in shares of his companies led Adani’s personal fortune to fall by as much as $69 billion, or almost 60%.
Early life
Adani was born on 24 June 1962 in a Gujarati Jain family to Shantilal Adani (father) and Shantaben Adani (mother) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He has 7 siblings. His parents had migrated from the town of Tharad in the northern part of Gujarat. His father was a small textile merchant.
He was educated at Sheth Chimanlal Nagindas Vidyalaya school in Ahmedabad. He enrolled for a bachelor’s degree in commerce at Gujarat University, but dropped out after the second year. Adani was keen on business, but not his father’s textile business
Milestones
- 1962 Gautam Adani is born in Ahmedabad, India, in the western state of Gujarat.
- 1980 Works as a diamond trader in Mumbai.
- 1981 Returns to Ahmedabad to help brother with his plastics factory.
- 1988 Establishes his flagship company, Adani Enterprises.
- 1994 Wins approval to set up a port to handle his company’s cargo in Mundra.
- 1997 Adani is kidnapped and held hostage for ransom.
- 2007 Mundra Ports & Special Economic Zone begins trading in India.
- 2008 Escapes danger at Mumbai’s Taj hotel when it’s attacked by terrorists.
- 2009 Adani Power begins trading in India.
- 2015 Spins off Adani Power, Adani Ports and Adani Transmission.
