5 Gautam Adani book bombshells: the Indian billionaire’s biography reveals wife Priti’s reluctance to marry Asia’s richest man, Karan and Jeet’s upbringing, and the story behind his ‘toofani’ nickname
- Gautam Adani is the third richest person in the world, worth US$134 billion, but his wife Priti Adani had to be persuaded to meet the then university dropout by her father
- Despite putting in 12-hour days at the Adani Group, the billionaire was able to ‘switch off’ enough to be present with his kids Karan and Jeet – but why did friends call him ‘toofani’?
It’s been a milestone year for Indian billionaire businessman Gautam Adani. With an estimated net worth of around US$134 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Adani now finds himself in the top five richest people in the world. It’s an incredible achievement given that much of his wealth has been accumulated in just the past few years.
The businessman turned 60 this year and celebrated alongside his family and colleagues at the Adani Group headquarters, as well as by donating a whopping US$7.7 billion to charity for the occasion. But despite his wealth and the fame that has come along with it, not much is known about Adani.
That’s why a new book, Gautam Adani: Reimagining Business in India and the World, by veteran journalist R.N. Bhaskar is making headlines. Here are five juicy revelations you need to know about …
1. The book ‘approval’
Adani is a notoriously private man and, despite having known his biography author Bhaskar for many years, had not actually given permission to him to write his book. However, Mid-day reported that ahead of the book being published, Adani’s manager demanded to see a manuscript. The author said he replied and decided to copy the billionaire himself in to their correspondence.
Adani requested a meeting with Bhaskar, during which he asked how the author planned to cover certain controversial topics. According to Mid-day, rather than asking the author to cease writing the book after hearing his answer, Adani instead asked his team to give Bhaskar any documents he would need to fill in the blanks. The move signalled a green-light from one of the world’s richest men, giving even more credibility to the information provided in the book.
2. His ‘toofani’ nickname
NDTV reported that Adani’s peers often referred to him as “toofani”. The nickname’s meaning in context can best be translated as “unconstrained”. One example of how he gained the moniker became evident when he moved to Ahmedabad with his family in the early 1970s, according to the book.