Adani's Comeback After SC Comments On Hindenburg Report: Back Into Top Twenty Richest Globally, Fortune Grows By $6.5 Billion

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has surged back into the top 20 wealthiest individuals globally, experiencing a consecutive rally that boosted the combined market capitalisation of Adani Group-owned companies by Rs 1.33 lakh crore according to a report from The Economic Times.

As reported by Bloomberg, Adani now holds the 19th position in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, witnessing a $6.5 billion increase in his total net worth. However, his overall net worth is still down by $53.8 billion on a year-to-date basis.

The Adani Group attracted attention when all 10 of its stocks experienced a robust rally following the Indian Supreme Court's comments on the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI) investigation into the group. This development heightened investor interest in Adani Group stocks.

The collective market capitalisation of all Adani stocks surged by over Rs 33,000 crore on Wednesday (29 November) reaching Rs 11.6 lakh crore.

Gautam Adani is now the second richest Indian on the list, following Mukesh Ambani, whose estimated total net worth is $89.5 billion, having grown by over $2.34 billion in 2023.

Adani's ranking had slipped below the 25th position due to the Hindenburg research report in January.

However, on Friday, the Supreme Court expressed no reason to discredit SEBI's probe against the Adani Group.

The court reserved its order on petitions related to the Adani-Hindenburg row after concluding the hearing, stating that there was no material before it to doubt SEBI's actions.

The court emphasised that it cannot treat the Hindenburg report as a "true state of affairs" and cannot ask a statutory regulator to consider it as "gospel truth" merely because it was published in the media. The court also questioned SEBI on its future plans to ensure investors do not lose wealth due to market volatility or short-selling.

Besides Adani and Ambani, 20 other Indians are listed, including Shapoor Mistry, Shiv Nadar, Savitri Jindal, Azim Premji, Radhakishan Damani, and Uday Kotak, among others.