From quitting college to making a solid mark in the business world, the rise of Gautam Adani

From quitting college to making a solid mark in the business world, Gautam Adani, (Founder and Chairman of the Adani group) has a knack for surviving crises. He started off as a diamond sorter at the Mumbai branch of the Mahindra Brothers. Soaking in the A to Z of the trade, while also simultaneously making mental notes on the changing markets, he set up his own diamond brokerage at Zaveri Bazaar. When his older brother bought a plastic unit in Ahmedabad, he requested him to run the franchise which marked his advent into the global trading market. Economic liberalization proved to be a blessing to Gautam and leveraging the situation to his advantage, he established the Adani Group in 1988.

By 1991, the company had grown in both resources and power and Gautam decided to diversify its commodities and interests. Since then, the Adani Group has emerged as a diversified Energy and Logistics conglomerate with key interests in Power Generation and Transmission, Coal Trading and Mining, Gas Distribution, Oil and Gas Exploration as well as Ports and Special Economic Zones.

He was held for ransom more than two decades ago and in 2008 was among the hostages of Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace hotel during the terror attacks. Since then, his business acumen to overcome obstacles have propelled him to the ranks of India’s richest. While the coronavirus outbreak sank the nation into an unprecedented recession, Adani’s group has kept growing.

Adani Green Energy Ltd. has jumped more than sixfold this year as it received a record $6 billion solar-power deal, a step toward the company’s goal of becoming the world’s largest renewable-energy maker by 2025.

The billionaire’s rapid diversification started around 2015. When Modi pledged to develop the local manufacturing of defense equipment, he quickly built the capacity to supply the military by partnering with defense contractors. A push into gas turned his empire into India’s largest retailer of the fuel in the private sector and forayed into the airport industry in 2019. France’s energy giant Total SA has already invested in Adani Green while Italy’s Snam SpA is working with the group on a strategic collaboration to explore opportunities in hydrogen and other cleaner fuels.

While Adani is doing well in his home country, he’s faced opposition and criticism in Australia, where the “Stop Adani” movement gained traction as lenders turned away from the controversial Carmichael coal project.

Holding a fortune valued at $32.4 billion, Adani is India’s wealthiest person after Mukesh Ambani.

What do you think the future holds for the Adani Group ?

An Article by : Juhi