Ambani edges past Adani to being Asia's richest

Ambani’s wealth jumped $3.59 billion in the past 24 hours, while Adani added $2.96 billion to his net worth.

Mukesh Ambani on Friday regained his position as Asia’s richest man, surpassing Gautam Adani, with one report saying the difference between the two billionaires’ net worth was “just $1 billion”.

As of June 3, Reliance Industries’ (RIL’s) chairman’s net worth was $99.7 billion, while the wealth of Adani Group’s founder stood at $98.7 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.

According to the index, Ambani’s wealth jumped $3.59 billion in the past 24 hours, while Adani added $2.96 billion to his net worth.

Ambani is now the eighth-richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, while Adani is in the ninth spot.

According to Forbes’s Real-Time Billionaire List, though, Ambani is now the sixth richest person in the world, with a net worth of $103.6 billion, up $5.4 billion. Adani’s net worth, on the other hand, grew $70 million to $99.3 billion, taking him to the ninth position.

Ambani’s wealth surged as RIL shares continued to rise, trading near record high levels in Friday’s session. Shares of RIL were up 2.2 per cent at Rs 2,779.5 on the BSE in Friday’s trade, having rallied 7 per cent in the past two sessions. The company’s market capitalisation stands at Rs  18.80 trillion.

The surge in Ambani’s wealth comes on the back of RIL reporting a 22.5 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 16,203 crore in the March quarter, driven by high oil refining margins, telecom and digital services growth, and a surge in retail business.