Ambani regains Asia’s richest person spot: Forbes

New Delhi, Apr 05: Mukesh Ambani has regained his spot as Asia’s richest person after rival Gautam Adani tumbled to No. 24, Forbes said in its Billionaire 2023 list released on Tuesday. “Adani was the world’s third-richest person on January 24, when he was worth nearly USD 126 billion. A report issued by US short-seller Hindenburg Research later that day, however, sent his companies’ shares plummeting,” Forbes said. His net worth is now USD 47.2 billion and is the second richest Indian behind Ambani. With a net worth of USD 83.4 billion, Ambani, 65, was ranked at No. 9 on the world billionaire list. “Last year, Ambani’s oil-to-telecom behemoth Reliance Industries became the first Indian company to surpass USD 100 billion in revenue,” Forbes said. Ambani, it said, sidestepped speculation about succession by giving his children key roles last year: Older son Akash is the chairman of telecom arm Jio Infocomm; daughter Isha is the head of the retail business; and younger son Anant works in Reliance’s new energy ventures. The 25 richest people in the world are worth a collective USD 2.1 trillion, according to Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list, down a combined USD 200 billion from USD 2.3 trillion in 2022.
“Two-thirds of the top 25 are poorer than they were last year, compared to around half of the list overall,” it said. No one lost more than Jeff Bezos as Amazon shares crashed by 38 per cent. The drop lopped USD 57 billion from Bezos’ fortune and knocked him from No. 2 in the world in 2022 to No. 3 this year. This year’s second-biggest loser, Elon Musk, had it worse. He lost his title of world’s richest person after his pricey purchase of Twitter, which he funded in part by the sale of Tesla shares, helping to spook investors. Musk, who is worth USD 39 billion less than a year ago, is now No. 2. With USD 211 billion net worth, Bernard Arnault, the French luxury goods tycoon, tops the list for the first time on the back of a banner year at LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Tiffany & Co., among others. Musk, 51, with USD 180 billion net worth, is ranked No. 2, followed by Jeff Bezos with USD 114 billion net worth.