Billionaire Gautam Adani has lost more than a third of his total fortune in just a month as his net worth dropped below $40 billion on Monday, showed updated data on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Adani, 60, has seen his net worth deplete over $80 billion during a month – from $120 billion to $39.9 billion. With this, Gautam Adani’s net worth has hit a two-year low. His net worth was last seen at the current level in February 2021.
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The massive drop in his net worth comes in the wake of a rapid fall in the market valuation of its 10 listed companies, triggered by an explosive report released by US short seller Hindenburg Research on January 24.
Hindenburg has accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation and improper use of tax havens and also raised concerns about the conglomerate’s high debt.
Although Adani Group has dismissed the allegations, Hindenburg’s report has led to a $12.2 lakh crore drop in the cumulative market capitalisation of the port-to-power conglomerate. Adani Group’s total market capitalisation has fallen below Rs 7 lakh crore, with listed shares of a few group companies down by over 80 per cent.
Alarmed by the bloodbath caused by the Hindenburg report, Adani Group is now aggressively trying to soothe investors and global stakeholders. Besides assuring investors and other stakeholders that its cash flows and assets remain strong, Adani Group is now aggressively prepaying debts to regain the trust of stakeholders.
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But debt repayments have hardly helped the company tackle the ongoing crisis as share prices of its 10 listed companies continue to fall, with some hitting the lower circuit for weeks.
As the group loses ground on the stock market, the panic seems to be growing among investors and shareholders. The fact that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has not yet provided any details about its ongoing investigation in the matter has also kept investors on the edge.
Meanwhile, the matter is also being heard in the Supreme Court, which recently rejected a plea seeking to gag the media from reporting on the Adani-Hindenburg issue till the court pronounces its order.
