Advertisement

How did Adani lose his title as Asia's richest man?

STORY: Gautam Adani was the third richest person in the world, and the richest in Asia, according to Forbes.

But by Thursday, not only had ranking slipped to 16th, his companies had lost $100 billion dollars.

So what happened?

The week began with a small U.S. investment firm Hindenburg criticizing Adani’s conglomerate.

A report alleged improper use of tax havens and flagging concerns about debt levels.

Even though Adani hit back at the allegations, investors bailed out.

That wiped off over $100 billion to Adani Group’s market value as of Thursday, a day after its flagship company abandoned a $2.5 billion stock offering.

"For me, the interest of my investor is paramount and everything is secondary. Hence, to insulate the investors from potential losses, we have withdrawn the FPO."

Adani, from Gujarat in western India, was a school dropout-turned-billionaire.

His Adani Group conglomerate grew to includes ports, coal mines, food businesses, airports and lately media.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is from the same state and their relationship has long come under scrutiny by Modi’s opponents.

On Thursday, lawmakers shouted anti-Adani slogans in the Indian Parliament.

But many Indians also voiced their support for the businessman on social media.

IndiaStandsWithAdani was among the top trending hashtags on Twitter.

Adani group said Hindenburg’s report was a “calculated attack” on India and its institutions.

A senior executive compared the rout of its stocks with a colonial-era massacre saying investors were behaving like the Indian soldiers who fired on fellow-citizens under orders from British rulers.

As the losses mounted in the market this week, Adani himself appeared unfazed.

He landed in Israel on Tuesday to take control of a Haifa port that he had bought earlier in partnership with a local firm.

[Adani] "Thank you, Shalom."