Mukesh Ambani Beats Gautam Adani; Becomes Asia’s Richest Man Again 

Mukesh Ambani on Friday reclaimed his position as Asia’s and India’s richest man, surpassing rival Gautam Adani. 

As on June 3, the Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) Chairman’s net worth stood at $99.7 billion, placing him in the eighth position on the list of the world’s richest people.

Whereas, the wealth of Adani Group’s founder came in at $98.7 billion, positioning him at the ninth spot, according to the Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, which tracks each billionaire’s net worth. 

Ambani saw his wealth increase by $3.59 billion, while Adani added $2.96 billion to his net worth, as per the index. The difference between the two billionaires was just $1 billion. 

Ambani’s wealth has surged in the backdrop of a 22.5 per cent rise in RIL’s March quarter net profit at Rs 16,203 crore, driven by rise in retail business, high oil refining margins, and telecom and digital services growth.  

In February this year, Adani surpassed Ambani to take Asia’s richest person’s spot on the back of the rise in his personal wealth, which made him the world’s biggest fortune-gainer this year. 

Meanwhile, as per the Forbes real-time billionaires list, Ambani’s net worth has surged to $104.7 billion, whereas Adani’s fortune stands at $100.1 billion. 

Mukesh Ambani-owned RIL has interests in telecom, petrochemicals, retail, and oil and gas sectors. Around 60 per cent of Reliance’s revenue comes from petrochemicals and oil refining, although, the energy-to-telecom behemoth has been pruning its dependence on oil refining by branching out into technology, telecommunications, and retail. 

Ambani is also pivoting RIL into green energy. The conglomerate will be infusing $80 billion over the next 10-15 years in renewable energy and constructing a new complex next to its refinery. 

The 65-years-old billionaire has been profiting from a jump in global commodity prices actuated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, brightening their fossil-fuel credentials. 

Adani, meanwhile, acquired a controlling stake in Switzerland-based Holcim AG's India cement businesses for $10.5 billion, becoming India's second-largest producer. 

RIL's shares continued to jump, trading near record levels in Friday’s session. The conglomerate’s shares were up 3 per cent at Rs 2,816.35 a piece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).