Gautam Adani slips from world's 3rd richest to 7th

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani's net worth continued to decline, putting him in the seventh spot in the Forbes Real Time Billionaires' list, slipping from the third position. His net worth stands at $96.5bn as of January 27, 2023, declining more than $22.7bn or 19 per cent, as per the Forbes data.   

Shares of Adani Group's seven listed companies crashed for the second straight day on Friday, extended their fall after Hindenburg Research said that it took a short position in certain securities of the group. Adani Group has dismissed the report as 'baseless' and said it is considering whether to take legal action against the US-based firm. 

Adani Transmission shares tumbled over 19 per cent and Adani Total Gas sank 19.1 per cent in their biggest daily drop since mid-March 2020, while Adani Green Energy sank about 16 per cent on the BSE.

Meanwhile, Adani Enterprises also plunged even as it kicked off the ₹20,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO) on Friday. It will sell shares in the price band of ₹3,112 to ₹3,276 apiece and the issue will close on January 31, 2023. The flagship firm of billionaire Gautam Adani-led conglomerate on Wednesday said it has raised ₹5,985 crore from anchor investors ahead of the offer.

Gautam Adani is the founder of conglomerate Adani Group, the largest port operator in the South Asia's biggest economy. The Ahmedabad, India-based infrastructure group is also India's largest closely held thermal coal producer and largest coal trader. Adani Group's interests span infrastructure, commodities, power generation and transmission and real estate.

The Adani Group has been diversifying its business interests and last year bought cement firms ACC and Ambuja Cements from Switzerland's Holcim for $10.5 billion. ACC was down 15 per cent on Friday, while Ambuja plunged up to 25 per cent.