Gautam Adani, born as Gautam Shantilal Adani on June 24, 1962, in Ahmedabad, India, is an Indian billionaire industrialist and the founder and chairman of the multinational conglomerate Adani Group. He is widely recognized for transforming India’s private infrastructure sector, particularly in ports, energy, logistics, and renewable power. He also serves as the chairman of the Adani Foundation.

Gautam Adani was born to Shantilal Adani and Shantaben Adani as one of eight siblings. He attended Sheth Chimanlal Nagindas Vidyalaya High School in Ahmedabad but dropped out in 1978 while in the tenth grade, ending his formal education at an early age.

In 1978, Gautam Adani moved to Mumbai (then Bombay) to work at Mahendra Brothers, a diamond trading firm. In 1981, his elder brother Mahasukhbhai Adani invited him back to Ahmedabad to manage operations at a newly acquired plastics manufacturing unit. This venture marked his entry into global trade through polyvinyl chloride (PVC) imports.

By 1985, Gautam Adani had begun importing primary polymers for small-scale industries. In 1988, he founded Adani Exports, the holding company of what is now known as the Adani Group, later renamed Adani Enterprises. Initially focused on agricultural and energy commodities, the company expanded rapidly following India’s economic liberalization policies in 1991, diversifying into metals, textiles, and agricultural trading.

A major turning point came in 1994 when the Government of Gujarat announced the privatization of port operations at Mundra. In 1995, Gautam Adani won the contract and developed the first berth at Mundra Port. Operations were later transferred to Adani Ports & SEZ, which became India’s largest private multi-port operator. Mundra Port today is India’s largest private-sector port, with an annual cargo handling capacity of nearly 210 million tonnes.

In 1996, Gautam Adani founded the group’s power generation arm, Adani Power, which grew into India’s largest private thermal power producer, operating power plants with a combined capacity of 4,620 MW.

In 2006, the Adani Group formally entered large-scale energy generation. Between 2009 and 2012, Gautam Adani expanded internationally by acquiring the Abbot Point Port and the Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, Australia.

In 2008, Gautam Adani was among the hostages taken during the terrorist attack at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, in which 166 people were killed.

In May 2020, the Adani Group won a USD 6 billion solar power tender from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), the largest solar energy bid in the world. The 8,000 MW photovoltaic power project was assigned to Adani Green Energy, while Adani Solar committed to building an additional 2,000 MW solar cell and module manufacturing capacity.

In September 2020, Gautam Adani acquired a 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport, India’s second-busiest airport after Delhi.

At the Bloomberg India Economic Forum in November 2021, Gautam Adani announced a USD 70 billion investment into green energy. In July 2022, further details were revealed, outlining plans to build three mega-factories focused on solar energy, electrolyzers for green hydrogen, and wind turbine manufacturing.

In February 2022, Gautam Adani surpassed Mukesh Ambani to become Asia’s richest individual. In August 2022, Fortune ranked him as the third-richest person in the world.

In May 2022, the Adani family acquired Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC from the Holcim Group for USD 10.5 billion through an overseas special-purpose entity.

As of January 2023, Forbes estimated Gautam Adani’s net worth at USD 126.8 billion.

Gautam Adani is married to Priti Adani, and the couple has two sons, Karan Adani and Jeet Adani.

Gautam Adani is often described as being close to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. This proximity, combined with the Adani Group’s success in securing major government contracts in energy and infrastructure, has led to allegations of favoritism.

He is the founder and owner of the Adani Foundation, established in 1996 and funded by the Adani Group. In March 2020, Gautam Adani contributed INR 100 crore (approximately USD 13 million) to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, along with additional donations to the Gujarat and Maharashtra Chief Minister Relief Funds.

Source: Biyografiler.com