India (Commonwealth Union)_ Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, two of India’s most prominent business magnates, faced substantial financial losses following the Indian stock market’s worst crash in four years. This downturn, which unfolded amidst uncertainty regarding the election results, saw investors grappling with significant losses, with nearly Rs 30 lakh crore evaporating within a single trading session. Accordingly, the stormy day witnessed the Sensex, India’s benchmark index, plunging by 4,389 points, or 5.74%, to conclude at 72,079, while the Nifty, another key index, dropped by 1,379 points, or 5.93%, closing at 21,884 by the session’s end. The Nifty Bank fared no better, recording a substantial loss of over 4,051 points, or 7.95%, to close at 46,928.
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In the midst of this market turmoil, select companies such as Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), Hero MotoCorp, Britannia, Nestle, and Divis Labs performed well, witnessing gains. Conversely, entities like ONGC, Coal India, and SBI grappled with significant losses. The market downturn was not confined to specific sectors but rather manifested as a broad-based decline, with most sectoral indices deeply entrenched in the red. Accordingly, industries spanning real estate, telecom, metal, oil & gas, power, and PSU banks endured declines exceeding 10%. Both the BSE midcap and smallcap indices mirrored this trend, witnessing declines of 7-8%.
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In the aftermath of this staggering market downturn, India’s wealthiest individuals, Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, were the most hit, suffering substantial declines in their net worths. This financial setback was particularly notable given its occurrence alongside the Lok Sabha election results, which diverged from earlier exit poll predictions. However, the stock market displayed signs of recovery in early Wednesday trading, with the Sensex gaining over 1,000 points and the Nifty gaining over 500 points. Despite this rebound, the repercussions of the previous day’s crash reverberated, notably impacting the fortunes of Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani.
Accordingly, Gautam Adani’s, Chairman of the Adani Group, net worth plummeted by $24.9 billion within a day, leaving his total worth at $97.5 billion, as per media reports. This drastic decline positioned him as the 15th richest individual globally and the second wealthiest in India, trailing behind Mukesh Ambani. Adani Group’s stocks suffered a huge downturn on June 4, with declines of up to 18%, eroding a significant market capitalization of over Rs 10 lakh crore. Similarly, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Group, witnessed an $8.99 billion decline in his net worth, bringing it to $106 billion, and ranking him 11th among the world’s richest.
Analysts attributed the market correction to various factors, including margin calls that disproportionately impacted retail investors with leveraged positions. Accordingly, Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, expressed hopes for a quick recovery. He stated, “Immediate support is visible at the psychological level of 22,000, below which the index might fall further towards 21,400-21,500. Recovery looks possible once the trend moves in favour of the BJP winning the elections comfortably.” Despite the prevailing uncertainty, experts maintained expectations of stability within the BJP-led coalition, mitigating substantial downside risks in the medium term.
Additionally, the wealth of other Indian billionaires, such as Savitri Jindal, chair of steel firm Jindal Group, and Kumar Mangalam Birla, chair of conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, also experienced notable declines amidst the market turmoil, with Savitri Jindal’s net worth falling to $2.1 billion to $35.5 billion, and Kumar Mangalam Birla’s net worth falling to $839 million to $21.1 billion. These developments underscored the broader consequences of the stock market crash on India’s economic landscape and the fortunes of its wealthiest individuals amidst shifting political dynamics.
Notably, billionaire Gautam Adani’s net worth approached $100 billion on Monday following a surge in the Indian stock market that witnessed shares of his publicly traded companies rise by 18%. This was due to exit polls that were conducted after the conclusion of the election in India, which indicated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party would win a third term. Accordingly, Adani’s net worth as of Monday was $98 billion, ranking him the 17th wealthiest person in the world and the second richest person in Asia, after his fellow countryman Mukesh Ambani.
Additionally, with a $207 billion net worth, Bernard Arnault is at the top of the global richest list, followed by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, who comes in second with a $202 billion net worth. Next on the list is Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, who ranks third with a $201 billion net worth, followed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in fourth place with a $170 billion net worth, and Google co-founder Larry Page in fifth place with a $155 billion net worth.
