What does it mean to be the No. 1 on the world’s rich list? It’s no ordinary feat. The list mentions extraordinary people, who have amassed wealth because of their business acumen and farsightedness. They scale the heights of success riding on their incredible entrepreneurial skills.
Forbes, Bloomberg and Hurun publish their lists every year. It’s interesting to see the power play as the position of the richest keeps fluctuating on the scale. So, if Elon Musk was ranked No. 1 last year, Bernard Arnault surpassed him to take the top position this year.
According to Forbes, “nearly half the list is poorer than a year ago, including Elon Musk, who falls from No. 1 to No. 2 after his pricey acquisition of Twitter helped sink Tesla shares. Bernard Arnault, head of luxury goods giant LVMH, takes his place as the world’s richest person, marking the first time a citizen of France leads the ranking. The United States still boasts the most billionaires, with 735 list members worth a collective $4.5 trillion. China (including Hong Kong and Macau) remains second, with 562 billionaires worth $2 trillion, followed by India, with 169 billionaires worth $675 billion.”
There’s a scale to weigh everything, even wealth. This scale measures the wealthy and their wealth on different parameters and factors. It’s kind of a ranking system that uses different methodologies to determine a person’s position on the rich scale and their net value. “Net worth is the most common measure of wealth, determined by taking the total market value of all physical and intangible assets owned, then subtracting all debts,” explains Investopedia. Forbes uses stock prices and exchange rates to calculate net worths.
In Asia, Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group, is the second richest Asian, as per the Forbes rich list. He was ranked the world’s second richest at the start of 2023 but failed to figure in the top 20 after the assault by US short seller Hindenburg Research on the Group in January 2023. The conglomerate lost as much as $150 billion in market value in the aftermath. But Adani didn’t buckle down and instead took measures to consolidate his wealth. The billionaire who heads a $32 billion enterprise spanning ports, airports, energy, and green initiatives has had a stupendous comeback after a year.
Every new year brings with it a lot of hope, aspirations, and resolutions to do better than the previous year and achieve more. A year after the Hindenburg attack, the conglomerate has emerged not only stronger but more confident. “I am under no illusion that this is the end of such attacks. I believe we have emerged stronger from this experience and more unwavering in our resolve to continue our humble contribution to the India growth story,” Mr Adani said in his opinion piece written for The Times of India.
New policies are shaping India. Aligning with India’s vision, Adani Group is scripting its success story. Today’s economic climate is such that businesses are ready to take risks to stay ahead of the curve – be it adopting technological interventions or changing goals as per change in policies. They are eager to adapt to changes like never before.
