Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is no longer the second richest man in the world. His place is now taken by an Asian tycoon, whose rise has left Microsoft founder Bill Gates and LVMH luxury goods group owner Bernard Arnault behind in the past two months.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of the Amazon sales platform, is no longer the second richest man in the world. His place is now taken by Indian tycoon Gautam Adani of Adani Enterprises Ltd, who started the year ranked 14th in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
As of 10:38 a.m. New York time on Friday, September 16, Bezos’s net worth shrunk to $145.8 billion, stemming from a tech sell-off that has hit the fortunes of several American billionaires in the past year.
Instead, Adani’s fortune jumped to $146.9 billion as shares of his flagship company have risen more than 1,000% since 2020. With the recent rise to second place, the Indian businessman trails behind $260 billion. from CEO of Tesla and Space X Elon Musk, says Bloomberg.
Although Adani’s arrival at second place is a fact, his permanence could be “fleeting” and will depend on the performance of Amazon shares, which have dropped more than 26% this year, says the specialized finance media.
Adani, became the richest Asian person in February 2022 after surpassing Mukesh Ambani. The tycoon’s rise has been swift to the point of overtaking Microsoft founder Bill Gates and LVMH luxury goods group owner Bernard Arnault in the past two months.
The 60-year-old tycoon left university as a young man to try his luck in Mumbai’s diamond industry in the early 1980s. He subsequently moved into coal and ports where his conglomerate has expanded from airports to hubs. data, cement, media and green energy.
This is the first time an Asian tycoon has been featured high on the wealth index, which has typically been held by American tech entrepreneurs.
In April of this year, Forbes published its list of the richest people in the world, where Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bernard Arnault ranked first. At the time, Musk’s fortune hovered around $219 billion.