Success Story of Gautam Adani: Journey to become India’s richest person from a Rs 100 note

Who is Gautam Adani?

Gautam Adani Success Story- A College Dropout to Indian Billionaire Entrepreneur — Gautam Adani | Credit Image: SugerMint

Gautam Adani is the richest man of Asia as of 12^th April 2022 and has the net worth of US $ 122.4 billion, He is an Indian industrialist and entrepreneur who founded the Adani Group- a multinational conglomerate company involved in port development and operations in India. Founded in 1988, the company has become a crucial player in oil and gas exploration, coal trading and coal mining, power generation and multi-modal logistics,

His Early Life in Business:

Gautam Adani was born into a business family in Gujrat state of India. Though he came from the business family, he never developed any interest in the family’s textile business. Being an ambitious person and inheriting his forefathers’ business acumen, he moved to Mumbai to seek his fortune when he was 18. He started a job at Mahindra Brothers as a diamond sorter in Mumbai’s jewellery market Zaveri Bazar. After two years, he opened his own diamond brokerage business in which he got massive success that made him a millionaire at the age of 20. However, to help his brother in his business, Gautam returned home.

Having an entrepreneur’s mindset, Adani kick started his own business Adani Exports Limited which is now known as the Adani Enterprises Ltd. It turned out to be the Adani Group’s flagship company.

In the beginning, the business was limited to export and import of agriculture commodities, later it expanded to coal mining, power generation, ports, gas distribution, edible oil and transmission and other ventures.

Liberalization and economic reforms of 1991 worked hugely in favour of the Adani Enterprises Ltd that increased revenue and profits for it. In such favourable business environment, he expanded his company rapidly.

In 1995, Adani won the contract to run the Mundra Port along with Special Economic Zone Limited which is India’s largest private multi-port operator today.

Also, Gautam Adani established the power business subsidiary of Adani Group- Adani Power Limited in 1996. Today, the company is India’s largest private power producer and solar power producer.

What Worked for Him?

A knack to identify the opportunities and farsightedness are the major traits of Gautam Adani that contributed in his massive success. When Indian economy threw open its door to globalisation, he seized the opportunity and diversified his business to capture the new market. Gradually, the group emerged as a conglomerate.

As per Gautam Adani himself, “There are two turning points in my life, one in 1985, when the government relaxed import norms under open general licence for actual users. I began imports or raw materials- polymers- and entered trading. The second turning point came in 1995, when we decided to get into port sector, as part of group’s overall strategy to get into asset -building,”

Moreover, his negotiation and convincing skills played a significant role in his journey. Once he visited then railway minister, Nitish Kumar and convinced him to integrate ports to the railway. As a result the minister formulate the port-linkage policy. This policy permitted port owners to operate their own rail tracks to the closest railheads.

Gautam Adani is a man of strong values and determined attitude. He has been heard on many occasions that ‘dealing with the government doesn’t mean that you have to give a bribe.’

Along with that he is a lifelong learner. He never had sophisticated training from prestigious business schools though, he taught himself business by observing trade tricks and got the hang of how demand and supply work. His keen observation allows him to identify the areas where need can arise.

His Family:

Gautam Adani Says He Couldn't Have Received A Better Birthday Gift Than... — Gautam Adani | Credit Image: NDTV.com

Preity Adani, a dentist, is the wife of Gautam Adani. They have two sons- elder one is Karan Adani, and younger one is Jeet Adani. Preity assists Gautam in his work as a manging trustee of the Adani Foundation and runs numerous educational campaigns for children. Having completed his graduation in Economics from Purdue University USA, Karan Adani is working with his father. In 2016, Karan was appointed as the CEO of Adani Ports and SEZ. He is married to Paridhi Shroff, the daughter of one of the biggest names in corporate law Cyril Shroff.

Jeet Adani is the vice president of Adani Group finance department and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.

Facts About Gautam Adani:

Gautam Adani was born on 24^th June, 1962 to Shantilal and Shanta Adani and has 7 siblings.
He comes from a Bania family from Ahmedabad, Gujrat that ran a textile business.
He made his first million within 3 years as a diamond broker at the age of 20.
Gautam Adani made more wealth than any other business person on the earth like Elon Musk of Tesla, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Mukesh Ambani of Reliance or Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of the first quarter of 2021
He gives about 3% of his profits to philanthropic activities like giving free education to underprivileged children through Adani Vidya Mandir School.
Adani Group has been ranked the most trusted infrastructure brand in “The Brand Trust Report 2015”

What is Next?

Gautam Adani is planning to revamp his business empire into the world’s largest renewables energy player. As per Gautam Adani himself, they will invest between USD 50-70 billion in organic and inorganic growth opportunities across the entire value chain over the next decade. The port to energy group will invest over USD 20 billion in renewable energy generation alone.

“Our actions indicate that we are putting our money where our mouth is as over 75 percent of our planned capex until 2025 will be in green technologies,”. He said in an interview to Nikkei Asia.

Final Words:

Gautam Adani is not only a business tycoon but a philanthropist as well. His business acumen and foresightedness have been the main tools in his success story. Once he said that he lives with a mantra that keep trying and never get obsessed with the result. Growth with Goodness as the phrase reads on Adani Group’s website is the way ahead for the entire business world.

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Success Story of Gautam Adani: Journey to become India’s richest person from a Rs 100 note