From Ambani to Adani? Billionaires in India racing to the top

WEALTH GENERATOR: Indian industrialist Gautam Shantilal Adani added $33.8 billion to his net worth during the 12-month period ending May 20, 2021. His net worth is now estimated $68.4 billion, according to Bloomberg.

OVERTAKE IMMINENT?: Gautam Adani, 58, heads a massive business conglomerate in India and recently jumped to the 14th spot on Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. His net worth overtook China's Zhong “Lone Wolf” Shanshan on May 20, 2021.

STILL ASIA'S RICHEST MAN: Now, the richest Asian, India’s Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani, 64, with an estimated net worth of $76.5 billion, is richer than Adani by $8.7 billion. The stock price of companies under their command would determine in no small part whether this gap would widen — or narrow.

ZOOMING AHEAD: In the past 12 months, the 58-year-old Gautam Adani proved to be a super-efficient wealth creator, in fact, better than most of the 13 billionaires above him on the Bloomberg list — including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Telsa/Space X’s Elon Musk, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffet, Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

BIGGEST WEALTH GENERATOR FOR ADANI? The stock market. His stakes in several leading industrial companies in India helped Gautam Adani accumulate more wealth in the past 12 months. Adani Enterprises, the billionaire's flagship company, has seen its value rise almost 846.27% over the past year.

WEALTH ADDITION: Adani added an estimated $33.8 billion to his net worth within the year to May 21, 2021, bringing his net worth to a whopping $68.4 billion. Ambani, on the other hand, has lost $398 million, with an estimated net worth to $76.5 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.

BOOSTERS: These are some of the main engines of value generation for the Adani group: Over the last 12 months (to May 27, 2021), Adani Total Gas jumped 378% (price: Rs1,382, as of 11.42am); Adani Transmission has jumped 796% (price: Rs1,443 as of 11.42am); while Adani Green Energy, spiked to 481% (Rs1,277 as of 11.43am).

PERFORMANCE IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS: During the same period, Adani Power Ltd. shares (Rs96.50) jumped 267%; while Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (Rs761 as of 12.53am) has jumped 232.90%.

PUSH FOR RENEWABLES: The Kamuthi Solar Power Project is renewable power station spread over an area of 2,500 acres (10 km2) in Kamuthi, Ramanathapuram district, 90 km from Madurai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The project was commissioned by Adani Power. With a generating capacity of 648 MW, at a single location, it is the world's 12th largest solar park based on capacity.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: During the COVID-driven crisis, the Adani conglomerate contributed Rs1 billion (100 crore; $13.7 million) to PM CARES fund, and gave Rs50 million (5 crore; $689,000) each to Gujarat CM Relief Fund and Kerala CM Relief Fund, according to Indian media reports.

OXYGEN FOR COVID-19 PATIENTS: As India faced the worst coronavirus outbreak, the Adani Group purchased 48 oxygen-carrying tanks and 5,000 medical-grade oxygen cylinders from Saudi Arabia, the Times of India reported on May 9, 2021. The conglomerate, involved in everything from ports to energy, also partnered with global oxygen producers Linde and Air Products. A company spokesperson told Indian media the tanks have the capacity to carry 780 tonnes of liquid oxygen across the subcontinent.

RELIEF: Adani Group had been actively taking part in community relief efforts: It donated Rs1.14 billion (114 crore; $15.7 million) to central and state governments till April 14, 2021. The group also donated Rs20 million (2 crore; $416,006) to Andhra Pradesh CM Relief Fund and Rs10 million (1 crore; $208,000) each to Maharashtra CM Relief Fund and Jharkhand CM Relief Fund.

GENEROUS EMPLOYEES: In addition, Adani employees gave Rs40 million (4 crore, $550,708) to COVID-19 relief efforts, which was matched by Adani Foundation, brining it up to Rs80 million (8 crore, $1.1 million).

COVID-19 DRIVE: The Adani group, along with Iskcon Dwarka, also has contributed Rs5 million (50 lakh; $104,104) to feed about 100,000 underprivileged people in Delhi. Indian media reported that the Adani Group provided 100 ventilators to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, and gave 10,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits to the government of India.

RELIANCE INDUSTRIES’ PERFORMANCE: In the last 12 months, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries also did well — 38.71% on the stock exchange. Reliance Industries’s Jio Platforms has yet to list on the stock exchanges.