Adani's net worth down $12 bn this year. There’s another billionaire who has suffered an even bigger hit

Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, has seen the second-largest decline in wealth this year, behind only Tesla founder Elon Musk, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The billionaire industrialist, currently ranked 23rd on the index, has seen his net worth shrink by $11.9 billion to $66.8 billion.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk's fortune has declined by $35.2 billion, bringing his net worth to $397.3 billion.


Musk has witnessed a significant rise in his wealth recently, driven primarily by the increasing valuations of his companies and his prominent role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under US President Donald Trump's administration.

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Adani, along with executives from his company, Adani Green Energy, was indicted in New York over allegations of orchestrating a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme. US prosecutors claim that between 2020 and 2024, Adani and his associates, including his nephew Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain, paid over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure lucrative solar energy supply contracts worth $2 billion in profits.

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Adding to the accusations, prosecutors allege that Adani Green Energy secured over $3 billion in loans and bonds during the same period by issuing false and misleading statements. Arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani have been issued, with US authorities seeking international law enforcement cooperation. The case has also drawn attention from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed related civil charges.

Adani Group has called the allegations "baseless" and vowed to seek "all possible legal recourse."

Adani Enterprises has fallen 14.7% this year, while Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone has declined by 8.85%. Other group companies, including Adani Power and Adani Green Energy, have also seen declines of 8.15% and 17.3%, respectively, during the same period.

As far as other Indian billionaires on the list are concerned, Mukesh Ambani, ranked 17th on the list, witnessed a $2.9 billion decline in his fortune, to $87.7 billion. Shiv Nadar of HCLTech saw his net worth shrink by $4.53 billion to $38.6 billion.