India’s Adani Group founder and chairman, 58-year-old Gautam Adani became Asia’s second-richest man on Thursday, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires’ Index.

Overtaking China’s Zhong Shanshan, founder of Nongfu beverage company as Asia’s second richest man, Shanshan’s wealth dropped by US$78 million to US$63.6 billion while Adani’s rose by US$625 million to US$67.6 billion. 

Adani’s wealth has increased over US$32 billion in 2021 as the stock price of his group’s six listed companies, Adani Enterprises, Adani Green, Adani Total Gas, Adani Power, Adani Gas and Adani Transmission rose. 

In the past year, Adani Group companies have been on an acquisition spree, entering a deal to purchase SB Energy from Softbank and Bharti at a valuation of US$3.5 billion. The billionaire has also acquired a 74 per cent stake in Mumbai International Airport in September 2020, according to Forbes. 

Gautam Adani started out as a commodity trader in the early 1980s. In 1988, Adani founded Adani Exports, now known as Adani Enterprises. Now, the industrial tycoon owns some of the biggest infrastructures in India. 

Currently, Gautam Adani ranks number 24 on Forbes’ 2021 billionaire list, with a real-time net worth of US$66.9 billion as of May 21. 

See also: Asia's Richest 2021: Top 10 In The Forbes World’s Billionaires List