Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, who stood at the 10th spot on the Forbes Real-time billionaire list for 2023 after being overtaken by Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday, further slipped and came to the 15th spot on the list.
According to the Forbes list, Adani’s current net worth is USD 75.1 billion while it was USD 83.9 billion earlier during the day.
Before the critical report by U.S. short-seller Hindenburg, Mr. Adani had ranked third.
The rout has wiped out around $92 billion of the value of the conglomerate’s listed units since last week, Bloomberg News said. The industrialist’s personal fortune plummeted by more than $40 billion in the same period.
The losses mark a dramatic setback for Mr. Adani, whose business interests stretch from ports and airports to mining and cement. Now, the tycoon is fighting to stabilize his businesses and defend his reputation.
It comes just a day after the group managed to muster support from investors for a $2.5 billion share sale for flagship firm Adani Enterprises on Tuesday, in what many saw as a stamp of investor confidence.
The report by Hindenburg Research last week alleged improper use by the Adani Group of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation. It also raised concerns about high debt and the valuations of seven listed Adani companies.
The group has denied the allegations, saying the short-sellers narrative of stock manipulation has “no basis” and stems from an ignorance of Indian law. It has always made the necessary regulatory disclosures, it added.
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Shares in Adani Enterprises, often described as the incubator of Adani businesses, plunged 30 percent on Wednesday. Adani Power fell 5 percent, while Adani Total Gas slumped 10 percent, down by its daily price limit.
Gautam Adani Transmission was down 6 percent and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone dropped 20 percent.
Adani Total Gas, a joint venture with France’s Total, has been the biggest casualty of the short seller report, losing about $27 billion.
Underscoring the nervousness in some quarters, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Credit Suisse had stopped accepting bonds of Adani group companies as collateral for margin loans to its private banking clients.
India’s markets regulator, which has been looking into deals by the conglomerate, has said it will add Hindenburg’s report to its preliminary investigation.
State-run Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) said on Monday it would seek clarifications from Adani’s management on the short seller report. The insurance giant was, however, a key investor in the Adani Enterprises share sale.
Hindenburg said in its report it had shorted U.S.-bonds and non-India traded derivatives of the Adani Group.
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