Who Is Gautam Adani? Billionaire Is Now Richer Than Bill Gates

Bill Gates is no longer the fourth richest person in the world, as the billionaire was surpassed by India’s Gautam Adani.

Adani’s net worth has soared to $116.3 billion, up $1.9 billion, while Gates’ net worth is now $104.4 billion, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires list on Thursday.

Topping Forbes’ list is Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has a net worth of $246.9 billion. Musk is followed by Bernard Arnault, the founder and chairman of Louis Vuitton, who has a net worth of $156.5 billion, and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who comes in as the third richest person in the world with a wealth of $148.8 billion.

Gates dropped on the Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires list as he gave $20 billion to his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation earlier in July. Gates has pledged to give the majority of his wealth to the foundation and said that he expects to eventually fall off the list of richest billionaires.

Adani, who is one of two Indians on the Forbes top 10 list, is the chairman and founder of Adani Group – a conglomerate that has a range of businesses in airports and ports, coal and gas trading, power generation, infrastructure, and real estate, among other businesses.

Currently, Adani Group owns seven airports and the largest port in Gujarat, India - Mundra Port- as well as being the largest power generator and city gas retailer in the non-state sector, Bloomberg said. It is also India’s largest airport operator, acquiring a 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport in 2020.

The company also has its hands in the cement industry, completing a $10.5 billion deal to acquire a stake in Ambuja Cements and ACC, making Andi the second largest company in the cement industry in India, Bloomberg said.

Some of Adani Group’s listed share prices have increased by more than 600% in the last two years as the company focuses its attention on green energy and infrastructure, Bloomberg reported. Adani has said he will invest up to $70 billion in renewable energy projects, according to Forbes.