Mukesh Ambani pips Gautam Adani in rich list even as Reliance Industries shares remain a drag

Mukesh Ambani, 65, emerged as the ninth richest person in 2023 M3M Hurun Global rich list, beating Gautam Adani, 61, hands down, even as shares of its flagship Reliance Industries fell sharply in the last one year.

Ambani was worth $82 billion against Adani's $53 billion that rendered him the ninth spot on the global rich list against Adani's 23rd spot. Ambani retained the wealthiest Asian title for the third consecutive year, as per the Hurun list.

Reliance Industries declined 11.66 per cent in 2023 so far. The scrip has fallen in double digits for the one-year period. The stock still fared lot better than a meltdown in shares of Adani group's listed stocks in the aftermath of Hindenburg Research scathing report. Adani's wealth is, in fact, down 60 per cent from peak, Hurun noted. The Ahmedabad resident was briefly the world's second richest person in September 2022. The equity benchmark Sensex, on the other hand, is down 5 per cent this year and is flat for the one-year period.

Mumbai resident Ambani completed 20 years at the helm of Reliance Industries this past year, during which the conglomerate saw a 17-fold jump in revenues and a 20-times surge in profit. Ambani resigned from Reliance Jio, handing over the telecom business reins to his son Akash Ambani, Hurun noted.

With a 35 per cent decrease in wealth, Gautam Adani & family, 60, of Adani Group lost the second richest Asian title to Zhong Shanshan of YST. .

Adani's Adani group recently completed the acquisition Haifa Port in Israel for $1.2 billion. In December 2022, Adani Enterprises acquired NDTV founders' 27.3 per cent stake in the media company. It also completed acquisition of Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC from Switzerland's Holcim group for $6.4 billion. The recent acquisitions raised concerns over the group's debt later. The group has been taking steps to allay investor concerns.

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