Gautam Adani no longer Asia’s richest person as Mukesh Ambani takes over

India's Gautam Adani lost his title of Asia's richest person on February 1 as his stocks plunged to $74 billion after a report by Hindenburg Research alleged improper use of offshore tax havens. 

Ever since the Hindenburg report came into the public domain, Gautam Adani has been making the headlines, as he faced multiple allegations.

Prior to the publication of the Hindenburg Research report, Gautam Adani held the title of “Asia’s richest man” and 3rd richest man in the world, whereas now he has tumbled down to the 11th position following the publication of the report. 

In the report which was released in the previous week, Hindenburg Research expressed concern about the company's excessive debts and the valuations of seven listed Adani firms, as well as the improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation by the group.

On February 1, the group saw stock losses that led to its slip to 10th position on the Forbes rich list with a net worth of 84.1 billion dollars which is below Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd. who has an estimated worth of 84.4 billion dollars.

Even though the group was able to secure investor backing to complete a share sale for flagship company Adani Enterprises on January 30, the slump is just getting worse. 

On Wednesday, Adani Enterprises NSE -28.47% dropped 5%, bringing its losses since the release of the Hindenburg report to over $8 billion. Adani Total Gas NSE -10.00% plummeted 10%, below its daily price cap, while Adani Power NSE -4.98% declined 5%.

The largest victim of the short seller report, Adani Total Gas, a joint venture between the Adani Group and France's largest energy company Total, lost roughly $27 billion.

Data also revealed that following the release of the Hindenburg report, foreign investors have sold Indian equities worth a net $1.5 billion, the largest outflow over a period of four days since September 30.

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