Gautam Adani

Gautam Adani, born on June 24, 1962, is a prominent Indian billionaire businessman and the founder and chairman of the Adani Group, a multinational conglomerate that specializes in port development and operations across India. His journey began in 1978 when he moved to Mumbai as a teenager to work as a diamond sorter for Mahendra Brothers. This early experience paved the way for his future endeavors in global trading.

In 1981, Adani took charge of his elder brother's plastic unit in Ahmedabad, which served as a crucial stepping stone for him to establish the Adani Group in 1988. Under his leadership, the conglomerate has grown significantly, making him one of the wealthiest individuals in India and Asia. As of April 2026, his estimated net worth stands at ninety-two point six billion dollars, ranking him as the nineteenth richest person globally.

Adani's close ties with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have led to allegations of cronyism. In January 2023, the American short-selling firm Hindenburg Research accused him of stock manipulation and fraud. The Supreme Court later resolved the dispute regarding Adani Group stocks, dismissing calls for further investigations.

On November 20, 2024, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn charged Adani and several executives with five counts of bribery, alleging that he paid over two hundred fifty million dollars in bribes to secure contracts in various Indian states, including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, and Tamil Nadu.