Gujarati titan of Indian industry. His conglomerate runs everything from ports to telecoms. In April 2026 he overtook his Gujarati rival Mukesh Ambani to become India's richest man. Narendra Modi flew to Delhi in Adani's private jet upon becoming prime minister in 2014. Adani survived an alleged kidnapping attempt in 1998 and a terrorist attack in 2008, when gunmen stormed a Mumbai luxury hotel he was visiting for dinner.
He has filed suits against at least 15 journalists who have dug into his dealings, part of a broader pattern documented in research on press freedom. In February 2026 Ravi Nair, an investigative journalist and persistent critic, was sentenced to a year in prison by a court in Gujarat for criminal defamation over social-media posts. He is due to appeal.
In November 2024 federal prosecutors in New York alleged that Mr Adani and seven others, including his nephew, had paid more than $250m in bribes for a $2bn solar-power deal in India; a parallel civil case was brought by the SEC. On May 18th 2026 the Department of Justice dropped its charges, days after the SEC settled for $18m (with no admission of guilt). A third case from America's Treasury, over alleged purchases of Iranian gas in breach of sanctions, was settled the same day for $275m. Mr Adani's legal team was headed by Robert Giuffra, who has also represented Donald Trump; during the negotiations Mr Adani reportedly reiterated an offer to invest $10bn in America. The charges had cost Adani contracts in Kenya and prevented him from travelling to America.
The Adani Group's market value rose 30% in the first months of 2026 to just over $200bn. Adani Green Energy stands to benefit as India looks for alternatives to Gulf hydrocarbons. The group has signed deals with Google and other hyperscalers to supply power to data centres, and in February 2026 Adani Enterprises pledged to invest $100bn in data centres of its own over the next ten years. In 2023 Hindenburg Research alleged accounting fraud and stock-price manipulation; the episode briefly wiped $150bn off the conglomerate's value but India's securities regulator gave Mr Adani a clean bill of health in September 2025. Hindenburg wound down in January 2025.
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