Amazon
Sixty-year-old Adani surpassed Bezos thanks to his investments in cement, airports, coal, and other goods, an expansion that's netted him between $61 billion and $70 billion so far this year.
Bezos's worth has reportedly fallen to $145.8 billion in the past week, due in part to a 2% drop in the price of Amazon stock. Other billionaires, like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, have also reported dips in their net worth this year.
Adani is the founder of the massive conglomerate Adani Group, which also holds stakes in thermal power generation, solar manufacturing, and military defense. He recently announced that he would be initiating a hostile takeover of India's largest broadcast company, NDTV.
While Adani holds the second-place spot on Bloomberg's list of wealthiest people, he actually falls in third place on the Forbes list, behind French luxury brands magnate Bernard Arnault. On the Bloomberg list, Arnault is marked in fourth place, behind both Adani and Bezos. On both lists, Tesla
Adani is also the first Asian to make it into the top three on either list. The business tycoon began the year as the 14th wealthiest person on earth but quickly surged ahead.
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, billionaires like Musk and Adani have seen their wealth explode. Oxfam International reported that the ten richest people on earth doubled their wealth during the global pandemic that has killed more than six million people.
As of May, Musk's wealth had increased by $150 billion, or more than 600%, since the pandemic began. Adani has seen his wealth shoot up to its current level from less than $13 billion, pre-pandemic.
