I, a chartered accountant, stick my neck out to say I admire Gautam Adani knowing fully well he’s perhaps one of the most controversial businessmen in the world. I will explain in detail: why?
It’s not easy in the 24X7 news environment and the omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent social media, where debates are shallow, personal and accusatory, people almost compulsively label others as good or bad without knowing enough about them. We are obliged to make up our minds without bothering to look up, and when we actually fish for facts, sieve out fiction, more often than not, a completely different picture emerges.
Gautam was born in a humble Gujarati family on June 24, 1962 in Ahmedabad. Son of a modest textile merchant, Shantilal Adani, who couldn’t afford a decent education for his son. Gautam had barely finished matriculation when he was initiated into the family business.
Gautam aspired for more, much more, and took a gamble to come to Mumbai in 1978 to work as a diamond sorter. And what he did in the next 40 years is miraculously transformational. He now runs one of the most diversified business conglomerates in the world with interests ranging from airports, ports, retail, media, cement, real estate, coal, semiconductors and what not!
This is the beauty of Bharat—the ‘Indian dream’—where a tea-boy can grow up to hold the most powerful office in the country, and a poor merchant-boy with little education can become one of the richest men in the world. That too, in just a few decades. Perhaps, that is why he and successful people like him, who are not from of the Ivy League universities or anglicized, treated as an outsider, become object of ridicule.
The journey of his life, however, was far from smooth, instead, was paved with challenges that will break a lesser mortal. All challenges that life had to offer made Gautam stronger, and more determined. That he is controversial only signifies that he tried new ways to do old things and excelled and changed, in the process, the status quo. The fence sitter, mostly status quoists, all they could do is, find reasons to criticize the man. I’m annoyed that they misinform, and that is more sinister than what they criticised Gautam for—capitalist with little conscience.
The list of accusations against the Adani group is long and widely known ranging from environmental violations, stock price manipulation, and financial transparency issues to claims of benefiting from close ties with political dispensation in India. But he has never been party to mudslinging and has always maintained a dignified silence for, as is fairly evident, has better things to do.
The Adani family remains grounded, humble yet impactful, epitomising the Indian family value system. A formal and structured succession plan was implemented recently: his two sons and nephews all were accommodated equally.
He has been a pet target of the opposition because of his proximity with the ruling party and its leader. But this is not unheard of in India and the rest of the world; the bonhomie of the political leaders with the corporate honchos is a common practice. A good example is Mahatma Gandhi and Ghanshyam Das Birla. The struggle for freedom was funded by Indian businessmen.
This arrangement continued after independence. Jawaharlal Nehru referred to Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata as a ‘One-Man Planning Commission’.
Harsh Goenka, another industrialist, recently shared the letter by Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister to JRD Tata—or "Jeh" as she used to call him—dated July 5, 1973, thanking him for a gift of perfumes. "I am thrilled with the perfumes. Thank you so much," she wrote, adding: "I don't normally use perfume and am so cut off from the 'chic' world that I do not even know these, but will certainly experiment with them."
I believe Adani’s story is no different from the other Indian business houses like Reliance and Birla or Goenka or Godrej or Jindal. After all, strategic connections and adaptability have played a pivotal role in the rise of businesses, a trait shared by most of the large business conglomerates in India. And in the US, this arrangement has been institutionalized long ago. The financing of electoral campaigns in the US happens at the federal, state, and local levels by contributions from individuals, corporations.
What sets Gautam apart is the scale and speed of his success. Building a global empire within 20-25 years is a spectacular achievement. This is even more remarkable in today’s era of heightened transparency and digital scrutiny. Social media and real-time information amplify public and media attention on every major regulation and decision. Even after so many recent setbacks, including the much-reported Hindenburg report; the group has stood strong and has come out even stronger. The Gautam Adani Family has shown remarkable growth as per the Hurun Rich List.
People say Gautam got lucky, but to me getting lucky is also a skill. As they say, luck favours the brave. Numbers will make the picture clear. In most of the Adani group companies the promoters holding is between 70-80%; which means most of the capital is put in by the Adani group itself and people’s money (so to speak) is hardly between 10-15%. So, it punctures the argument that Adani has taken a lot of public money. Also, one has to factor in that there has never been any bank default, or mismanagement complaint since the inception of Adani group.
The Adani Group operates across approximately 22 Indian states, including those governed by opposition parties such as Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu—mostly in core sectors. The Jaipur Airport upgrade, where Adani group is enhancing the airport's infrastructure to improve operational efficiency and the Kawai Thermal Power Station, operated by Adani Power, plays a crucial role in fulfilling the energy demands of the region. In addition, Adani group is to invest over Rs. 7.5 lakh crores in Rajasthan on a 100 GW integrated green energy ecosystem and expanding cement production to create an oasis of green jobs. Adani’s Tajpur port project in West Bengal entails an investment of ₹25,000 crore while the Kattupalli Port Tamil Nadu will become a modern leading, logistics and trade centre in Southern India.
Not just in India, Adani Group has a strong presence in Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and now Israel also. Adani’s run West Container Terminal at Colombo Port marks India’s first strategic port operation in Sri Lanka as it is the largest and busiest transshipment port in the Indian Ocean.
I know I’m already being labelled a right winger, irrespective of what I’m: an informed pragmatist who happens to be a chartered accountant–so look at the financials before getting judgemental about people and businesses. And I know that the overview of the varied and various enforcement and tax agencies has never been so stringent, ensuring transparency in the flow of money, as in the present times, thanks to the technological revolution and e-governance.
If one is inclined to believe mere political connection can help achieve such a feat, then it’s vicious thinking. Gautam is a strategic thinker, very good in execution, and the Adani group is strongest in delivering on the commitment made.
Despite this unprecedented success, he, to me, remains a boy (who happens to be a billionaire) next door. We have never seen him or his family indulge in blatant displays of wealth. The Adani family remains grounded, humble yet impactful, epitomising the Indian family value system. Recently, a formal and structured succession plan was implemented in which his two sons and nephews all were accommodated equally.
In the times to come, nothing much is going to change, in my opinion he will be successful and subject to continued scrutiny, awe and admiration. He is the best example of the transformational power of ambition, determination, and dreaming big.
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