by Jaya Pathak
The life of Gautam Adani is none less than a Bollywood blockbuster movie. He has faced many adverse situations like being kidnapped in the streets of Ahmedabad and then hiding in the basement during the 26/11 attack amid the gunfire. His life has been full of drama including near- death drama and a phoenix like rise to the top. This literally shows that even after coming soon close to death several times, he didn’t stop but survived and kept moving forward. At present, he is the richest person in Asia, surpassing Mukesh Ambani. His journey shows that courage, hard work and right timing that completely change one’s life.
Early days
Born in 1962 into a Jain family, Gautam Adani is a well-known personality. He is an Indian billionaire businessman and the founder and chairman of the Adani group. Once his schooling has been completed, then he did not move to college. He took a keen interest in business and moved to Mumbai in 1978 where he worked for Mahindra Brothers. He began importing PVC and related materials. After the 1991 economic reforms, he saw big opportunities in international trade. Though he has already established a company 1988 naming Adani enterprises, after the economic liberalization policies, he started expanding his business into trading of textiles, agro products and metals.
Kidnapping
During in the late 1990s, Gautam Adani has already become a well known trader. One day he was traveling on the streets of Ahmedabad and suddenly at gunpoint, he was kidnapped. The kidnappers demanded a huge amount but he used his network of contacts and it helped him to get a secure release without even paying the said amount.
Such a bizarre experience might have scared many people for life but it had a 180° effect for Adani. This incident made him even stronger and more driven towards his business.
26/11 attack at the Taj Hotel
On 26th November 2008, he was at the Taj Hotel, Mumbai for a business dinner with JP Morgan bigwigs. That night terrorists from Lashkar- e- Taiba attacked the hotel and some other places in Mumbai. More than 160 people lost their life in that attack. Adani step into survival mode.
The hotel staff quickly moved him and other guests to a safer place. They stayed there for about 12 hours and were able to clearly listen to the gunshots and blast happening just 15 feet away. In one of his interviews also, he shared that it was a near death experience for him. Early in the morning, he along with other guests were rescued by NSG commandos. That night didn’t simply test his nerve but also helped him in running as well as growing the business empire.
Building the Empire
He did not come from a very rich or royal background, but he did not settle for easy opportunities. Post kidnapping incident, he put double effort into developing the Mundra port in Gujarat. Now this port has become one of the largest private operators in India.
Many business owners were afraid to invest heavily in infrastructure, but he did exactly the opposite of that. He invested huge amount and also got approvals from the government. His broad mind-set, vision and strategies help him turn a dry and empty coastline into an economic engine. By the end of 2010s, he expanded his business into the sector of power, renewable energy and airports.
He’s criticized heavily by some people as they think that his rise as an example of crony capitalism as he got special business benefits because of his close ties with political leaders, especially Narendra Modi from the time when he was the Chief Minister of Gujrat. But Adani rejects this idea and the says that his success is majorly due to his strategic vision and an ability to execute projects.
In the recent time he it’s focusing more on green energy and building large solar power projects in Rajasthan. He has also entered the cement industry by buying major assets from Holcim. In 2023, the group faced a huge hit when Hindenburg research accused Adani’s company of wrongdoing. As a result of which the market value of the group’s fell by about $150 billion. But over the next few years, the shares rose again and even reached new highs by 2026.
The big point is that in April 2026 reports says that Adani’s wealth is about $92.6 billion which is slightly more than Mukesh Ambani’s $90.8 billion. This makes Adani 19th richest person in the world while Ambani stands as 20th. The major reason for such a huge jump is the massive rise in the share prices of Adani green energy which alone surged 300% in recent years and it is also somehow propelled by government initiates such as renewable push and foreign investors are also putting money into the company.
Gautam Adani has invested in different sectors such as airports which is handling about 25% of air traffic of India. He has also invested in green capacity which is targeting 45 GW green energy by the end of 2030. all such investments fit quite well with the global shift towards net zero emission and clean energy. Mukesh Ambani’s jio is quite popular in the telecom sector, but Adani has positioned himself in the infrastructure industry including ports, power, airports and logistics which creates a protective moat around his business.
Conclusion
Adani has faced many serious problems. Such events could have badly damaged him or his business. But each of these events made him come back even stronger. He is not someone who will give up everything but come back even stronger. All you have to do is to notice big opportunities early and work very hard to use it. When the serious problems arise or comes in your way, then you don’t need to freeze – but you just have to adjust and move smartly.
