Gautam Adani and his family are now worth 11.6 trillion rupees (£104.4 billion), making them the richest people in Asia, according to the Hurun India Rich List.
Adani's wealth has recovered well since the Hindenburg report, increasing 95% from 4.74 trillion rupees (£42.66 billion) to 1.16 trillion rupees.
Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest man and chairman and director of Reliance Industries, who recently celebrated the lavish wedding of his youngest child, has seen his total assets rise by 25% to 10.14 trillion rupees (£91.26 billion).
The Hindenburg report, titled “Adani Group: World's third richest man perpetrating the biggest fraud in corporate history”, was released on January 25 last year and accused the group of fraud and other wrongdoings. Adani Group has denied the report, describing it as “malicious”, “baseless” and full of “selective misinformation”.
Gautam Adani bumps Mukesh Ambani to second place on the Hurun India Rich List (AFP via Getty Images)
“Having risen like a phoenix after the Hindenburg scandal, 62-year-old Gautam Adani and his family have taken the top spot in this year's rankings with their wealth increasing by 95 per cent compared to last year to a total of 11.6 trillion rupees (about £104.4 billion),” the report said.
“As a self-made entrepreneur, Adani has recorded the highest asset growth among the top 10 companies in the last five years, adding Rs 10,216 billion, despite the challenges following the report.”
In the 2023 report, Adani's wealth fell by 57% to 47.4 trillion rupees, while Ambani's was a much larger 80.8 trillion rupees (£72.72 billion).
The 2014 Hurun India Rich List estimated Adani's fortune at 440 billion rupees (£3.96 billion), making him the 10th richest person in India.
In third place on the list is HCL's Shiv Nadar and his family with a fortune of 31.4 trillion rupees (£28.26 billion), followed by Serum Institute's Cyrus S. Poonawalla with a net worth of 28.9 trillion rupees (£26.08 billion).
Also making the list for the first time is Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, with an estimated net worth of 73 billion rupees (£657 million). The bulk of his wealth comes from being the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, the current champions of the annual cricket league, the Indian Premier League (IPL). His production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, also contributes to his fortune, which is expected to generate revenue of 3 billion rupees (£27 million) and net profit of 850 million rupees (£7.65 million) in 2023.
Khan also boasts endorsements from some big brands, including Indian fashion e-commerce company Myntra, online grocery brand BigBasket and Pepsi.
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan (right) and his wife Gauri Khan. Khan makes the list for the first time with an estimated fortune of £657 million (AFP via Getty Images)
Following Khan on the list are several Bollywood figures, including Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Juhi Chawla, actors Hrithik Roshan and Amitabh Bachchan and director Karan Johar.
The report also showed that the number of billionaires in India surpassed 300 for the first time, to 334, a 29 percent increase on last year, meaning a new billionaire was born every five days in the past year.
“India is emerging as Asia's wealth creation engine! While China saw a 25 percent fall in the number of billionaires, India saw a 29 percent increase, taking the number of billionaires to a record high of 334,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Chief Researcher, Hurun India.
“The Hurun India Rich List, with 1,539 names for the first time, showcases a diverse range of wealth creators, from family-run businesses and startup founders to private equity investors, angel investors, next generation leaders and film stars.”
The combined wealth of all those on the list exceeds 1.59 trillion rupees (£1.431 trillion), greater than the combined GDP of Saudi Arabia and Switzerland.
