Gautam Shantilal Adani
Gautam Shantilal Adani born 24 June 1962 is an Indian billionaire businessman and founder of Adani Group
Biography
Born to a middle-class textile merchant family in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Gautam Adani showed a strong drive toward business over traditional academics. After attending Sheth Chimanlal Nagindas Vidyalaya, he enrolled for a Bachelor of Commerce degree at Gujarat University. However, he dropped out in his second year to move to Mumbai, where he worked as a diamond sorter at Mahendra Brothers before launching his own brokerage in Zaveri Bazaar. In 1981, he returned to Ahmedabad to manage his elder brother's plastic manufacturing plant, which exposed him to primary polymer imports and international trade.
In 1988, Adani established Adani Exports (now Adani Enterprises), operating as a commodity trading company dealing in agricultural, power, and industrial materials. Recognizing the infrastructure bottlenecks impeding India's growth, he expanded into port development in 1995, securing the contract to build Mundra Port in Gujarat. Today, Mundra is India's largest commercial port, serving as the foundation for Adani Ports & SEZ (APSEZ). He systematically scaled his business into an infrastructure powerhouse—expanding into coal mining, power transmission, thermal power generation, edible oils (via Fortune Oil), cement manufacturing, and urban airport concessions across India.
Through Adani Green Energy, Adani repositioned the group as a major player in clean energy, securing massive solar and wind power contracts. Despite significant corporate and regulatory hurdles—including intense short-seller scrutiny and global market volatility—Adani rebuilt his enterprise into a vertically integrated infrastructure giant closely aligned with national economic development. Alongside his corporate role, he leads the Adani Foundation, chaired by his wife Dr. Priti Adani, directing social investment into education, primary healthcare, rural infrastructure, and sustainable livelihood programs across India.
Career timeline
In their words
“I am not attracted to those politicians who are short on vision and only want to make money. I like those who have vision.”