In two days, the billionaire went from third place in the ranking of the richest men in the world to seventh place, according to the Forbes ranking of the greatest fortunes.

The value of his assets fell by $22.6 billion on Friday alone.

His personal fortune is now estimated at $96.6 billion.

Sixty-year-old Gautam Adani describes himself as an introvert.

"I'm not a social person who wants to go to parties," he told the Financial Times in 2013.

Born in Ahmedabad, in India's western state of Gujarat, to a middle-class family, he dropped out of school to work briefly in the diamond industry before starting his export business in 1988.

In 1995, the businessman, who was then seeking to diversify his activities, won the contract to build and operate the commercial port of Mundra, which has since become the largest in India.

At the same time, he ventured into thermal power generation and coal mining at home and abroad.

In recent years, the conglomerate has made a foray into petrochemicals, cement, data management centers and copper refining.

controversies

But controversies have marred some of his businesses.

Like its 2010 takeover of an untapped coalfield in Australia that sparked years of protests over concerns over the project's monumental environmental impact.

Or its coal mining projects in central India, where forests home to tribal communities have been cleared for mining operations.

Gautam Adani's group, Asia's biggest fortune at the heart of a stock market storm © SUJIT JAISWAL / AFP/Archives

Considered a close supporter of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the billionaire has in recent years inaugurated a green energy company with ambitious goals, investing in the government's strategic priorities.

In 2022, he launched a hostile takeover bid targeting broadcaster New Delhi Television (NDTV), seen as the last major "quasi-independent" voice in the Indian media landscape.

A maneuver that has aroused serious fears for the freedom of the press in this densely populated country.

The tycoon defended himself by telling the Financial Times that journalists must have the "courage" to say "when the government is doing the right thing every day".

"Deeply over-indebted"

The group's rapid expansion into capital-intensive businesses has raised concerns, however, with Fitch Group's CreditSights agency warning in 2022 that the empire was "deeply overleveraged".

And this week a bombshell report from US investment firm Hindenburg Research accused him of fraud.

She alleged that the Adani Group used undisclosed related party transactions and earnings manipulation to "maintain the appearance of good financial health and creditworthiness" of its listed subsidiaries.

Industrialist Gautam Adani at an economic forum in Calcutta (India) on April 20, 2022 © Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP/Archives

The report says a decades-long pattern of 'government leniency on the group' has left investors, journalists, citizens and politicians unwilling to question the conduct of the group "for fear of reprisals".

Charges rejected by the Indian conglomerate, which was preparing for a major fundraising and which denounced Thursday a "maliciously malicious" reputation attack on the part of Hindenburg.

It has lost more than $45 billion in market capitalization since the report was released.

"These issues go to the heart of India's corporate sector, where a number of family-controlled conglomerates dominate," Gary Dugan, managing director of the Global CIO Office, told Bloomberg.

"By their very nature, they are opaque and global investors" must rely on companies' good faith, he said.

Adani Enterprises shares closed down 18.52% on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Listing of the shares of five group companies have been suspended.

© 2023 AFP