Energy Tycoon Overtakes Jeff Bezos As World’s Second Richest Person
By Katherine Hignett
Indian energy mogul Gautam Adani has become the second-richest person in the world after Elon Musk.
Adani, who takes a spot held by Jeff Bezos since 2021, now has a fortune of approximately US$156.6 billion according to the Forbes Real Time Billionaires List.
The billionaire is chair of the Adani group, which operates numerous businesses in coal mining, infrastructure and thermal power generation. His firms also operate private ports and airports.
Shares in his Adani Enterprises Ltd company rose to record heights this week, pushing him into the second place spot — the first Asian businessperson to rank so highly on the list.
His fortunes have surged since the start of the year, when he ranked 14 on the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index.
But Adani’s wealth is still around US$120 billion short of Musk’s US$277.1 billion.
The richest person in the world from 2017 to 2021, Amazon founder Bezos lost the top spot to the SpaceX founder last year.
He now sits in fourth position on the list, having been overtaken both by Adani and French luxury goods mogul Bernard Arnault. Arnault co-founded LVMH, a holding company for brands including Yves Saint Laurent and Moët & Chandon.
His fortune stands at US$155.5 billion, while Bezos has US$148.1 billion according to Forbes.
Much of Bezos’ wealth is tied to Amazon’s share prices, which have trended downwards as pandemic restrictions have eased and people have spent more time away from their homes.
Next on the list is Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who was the world’s richest person for more than two decades, from 1995 to 2017. He has an estimated fortune of US$105.2 billion.
