Ambani again becomes Asia’s richest person surpassing Adani

NEW DELHI: Mukesh Ambani on Friday regained his spot as Asia’s richest man, surpassing his rival Gautam Adani, as a report said that the difference between the two billionaires was ‘just $1 billion’.

As of June 3, Reliance Industries chairman’s net worth was $99.7 billion, while the wealth of Adani Group's founder stood at $98.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. In the last 24 hours, the Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, which tracks each billionaire’s net worth, said that Ambani saw an increase in his wealth of $3.59 billion. Adani added $2.96 billion to his net worth.

Ambani’s wealth surged as Reliance Industries shares continued to rise, trading near record high levels in Friday’s session. Shares of RIL were up 3 per cent at Rs2,816.35 (PKR7,163) on the BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) in Friday’s trade, having rallied 7 per cent in the past two trading days amid heavy volumes.

The 65-year-old is now the eighth-richest person worldwide, the Bloomberg's Billionaires Index said, while Adani is just behind him, at the ninth spot. The surge in Ambani’s wealth comes on the back RIL in March quarter reporting a 22.5 per cent rise in net profit at Indian Rs16,203 crore , driven by high oil refining margins, telecom and digital services growth and surge in retail business. Ambani’s net worth, as per Forbes real time billionaires list, has surged to $104.7 billion, while Adani's wealth stands at $100.1 billion.