Indian tycoon Gautam Adani worth $137 billion is now the world’s third richest man

According to Bloomberg and its Billionaires Index, Gautam Adani, the richest man in India and the entire Asian continent, has surpassed LVMH (LVMHF) chairman Bernard Arnault to become the third richest person in the world. He is the first Asian to hold that position.

According to the Bloomberg Tracker research, Adani, the owner of one of the largest companies in India, is worth roughly $137 billion.

The ranking comes following a jump in his wealth this week that put him just behind founders of Amazon (AMZN) Jeff Bezos and Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, whose respective fortunes are estimated to be $251 billion and $153 billion.

Adani, who founded the Adani Group, is the owner of businesses involved in everything from coal and solar energy to ports and the aerospace industry.

According to Bloomberg, his wealth has increased significantly since the beginning of the global health crisis. He also benefited from an increase in coal use, which has accelerated his rise in recent months.

Adani overtook fellow Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani to become the region’s wealthiest person in February.

His ascendancy on the global wealth rankings comes as some members of the world’s 1% give away more of their resources.

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft (MSFT), restated his plan to drop “off of the list of the world’s richest individuals” in July when he said he would donate $20 billion to the endowment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. With a net worth of $117 billion, Gates is currently the fifth richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg’s ranking.

Adani made news last week when he revealed his aggressive takeover offer for New Delhi Television, a significant broadcaster (NDTV). AMG Media Networks, a division of Adani’s conglomerate, is pursuing the sale.