Gautam Adani Becomes the First Asian to Rank Among the World's Top 3 Richest People

The latest list of the world's richest people from *Bloomberg* has delivered a surprise. For the first time, an Asian businessman, Gautam Adani, has entered the top three wealthiest individuals in the world in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index released on August 30, 2022.

The Indian tycoon has overtaken LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, who is now in fourth place. In the list of the top 10 richest people in the world, only Adani's net worth increased. He has added US$60.9 billion in 2022 (year-to-date/ytd), bringing his total wealth to US$137 billion.

Adani is the founder of Adani Group, India's largest port operator. The Ahmedabad-based infrastructure group is also India's largest thermal coal producer and the largest coal trader. Adani Enterprises, the group's listed trading company, reported revenues of $5.3 billion in the year to March 31, 2021.

Elon Musk still holds the top spot as the world's richest person, with a net worth of US$251 billion, down US$18.9 billion (ytd). Jeff Bezos remains in second place with a net worth of US$153 billion, down US$39 billion (ytd).

Aside from Adani, no other Asian has ever been in the top three richest people in the world. His compatriot Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma have never come close. In *Bloomberg's* latest list of the world's richest people, Ambani is ranked 11th with a net worth of US$91.9 billion.

(read: 10 Cities with the Most Billionaires in the World)