Mukesh Ambani Beats Gautam Adani To Become India’s Richest Person, World’s 8th Richest Person

Mukesh Ambani has pipped Gautam Adani to once again become Asia’s and India’s richest man.

The achievement came about as Reliance Industries (RIL) shares continued to surge to trade near record high levels in Friday’s trading session. 

Ongoing Swing Between Ambani And Adani

As per Bloomberg Billionaire index, RIL Chairman Ambani is now the world’s 8th richest with his net worth standing at $99.7 billion.

Trailing close behind is Adani Group’s Chairman Gautam Adani who has a net worth of $98.7 billion, placing him in the ninth spot globally.

Just this February, Adani overtook Ambani to take Asia’s richest spot on the back of a huge leap in his personal fortune, which made him world’s biggest wealth-gainer this year.

Reliance Industries’ Oil Dependence

Mukesh Ambani chairs and runs Reliance Industries, which deals in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom and retail.

Almost 60% of Reliance’s revenue comes from oil-refining and petrochemicals, though the company is trying to cut its dependence on oil-refining by diversifying into retail, telecommunications and technology.

He has profited from a surge in global commodity prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led to a better public image of their fossil-fuel credentials.

Green Energy Push

Ironically, Asia’s richest men continue to publicly push their pivots toward greener energy.

Reliance will be investing $80 billion over the next 10-15 years on renewable energy and building a new complex next to its refinery.

RIL reported an over 22% surge in its Q4FY22 profit at ?16,203 crore on the back of bumper oil refining margins, steady growth in telecom, digital services and retail business.

World’s And India’s Richest

At present, Elon Musk is the world’s richest with $227 billion wealth, followed by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos with $149 billion, LVMH’s Bernard Arnault with $138 billion, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates with $124 billion.

Warren Buffett comes fifth with a net worth of $114 billion.

When it comes to the richest Indians, following Ambani and Adani is Azim Premji at number 3 with $28.7 billion, Shiv Nadar in 4th with $25.9 billion, and Lakshmi Mittal at number 5 with $20.1 billion.