MUMBAI, Aug 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani is a different sort of Indian tycoon. The 60-year-old university dropout and son of a trader is a first-generation entrepreneur who has become the world’s fourth-richest man by building and buying critical energy and infrastructure assets at lightning speed. There is none of the obvious financial profligacy that broke many of his rivals in recent years, but other concerns cast a shadow over the billionaire who is starting to get too big to fail.
At some $220 billion, the combined market value of the Adani group’s seven publicly traded companies, all of which carry the industrialist’s name, has increased tenfold in three years. Gautam Adani leads as chairman and is flanked by his wife, brother, two sons and some nephews in various roles. The family’s power rests with large equity stakes of up to 75%, including in the flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) which houses data centres, roads and airports and incubates new projects.
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