Adani is founder of Adani Group, the largest port operator in India. The Ahmedabad, India-based infrastructure group is also India's largest closely held thermal coal producer and largest coal trader. Adani Enterprises, the group's listed trading house, reported revenue of $6.1 billion in the year to March 31, 2020.
Gautam Adani's net worth of $18.7B can buy ...
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The bulk of Adani's fortune is derived from his 63% stake in Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, which was spun off on June 4, 2015 from Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of Adani Group, the Indian conglomerate he founded.
He owns 74% or more of each of Adani Green Energy, Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, Adani Transmissions and Adani Gas, according to stock exchange filings from March 2020. All five companies are publicly traded and based in Ahmedabad, India. The shares are held by promoter groups, which include family members and holding companies that are credited to Adani to reflect his status as founder.
Adani has the largest port operator, closely held thermal coal producer and coal trader in India, according to its website.
Devendra Amin, a spokeswoman for Adani Group, declined to comment on emailed questions about the billionaire's net worth.
Gautam Adani was born in the western Indian state of Gujarat. After dropping out of college as a teenager, he moved to Mumbai and worked in the diamond trade before returning to his home state.
He made his foray into global trading when he imported polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, for his brother’s plastic business. In 1988, he set up Adani Enterprises, the group's flagship company, to import and export commodities.
Adani Enterprises gained approval from the Gujarat government in 1994 to set up a harbor facility to handle its own cargo at Mundra Port. Sensing the potential in the project, Adani decided to turn it into a commercial port. He built rail and road links to it by individually negotiating with more than 500 landowners across India to create the largest port in India. Adani got into power generation in 2009.
The billionaire was held for ransom by bandits in 1997, according to his Mundra Port website. When terrorists attacked Mumbai 11 years later, Adani was among the hostages held at the seafront Taj hotel, according to the website.