New Delhi, 03 November (H.S.): Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has once again emerged as Asia’s richest person, overtaking Zhang Yiming, co-founder of ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, according to the latest real-time ranking published by Forbes.

Ambani’s net worth surged by 10.5 per cent, taking his total wealth to USD 88.8 billion, equivalent to approximately Rs 7.4 lakh crore. Following this sharp increase, he has climbed to the 22nd position on the global list of the world’s wealthiest individuals, although he remains outside the top 20.

The sharp rise in Ambani’s wealth is largely attributed to the historic 12 per cent surge in Reliance Industries shares on Monday. Following the company’s strong second-quarter financial results, investors stepped up their buying activity, pushing Reliance’s market capitalisation up by more than Rs 1.6 lakh crore in a single trading session.

During the July-September quarter, the company’s revenue increased by 28 per cent to Rs 3.62 lakh crore, while its net profit jumped 34 per cent to a record Rs 29,550 crore. The recent blockbuster stock market debut of Jio Platforms, which listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) at a premium of 27 per cent, has also provided a substantial boost to the company’s valuation.

Following this reshuffle in the global wealth rankings, Zhang Yiming has slipped to the 25th position worldwide, with an estimated net worth of USD 84 billion. Meanwhile, Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group and another leading Indian industrialist, is ranked 26th globally, with a net worth of USD 80.1 billion.

The strong performance of Reliance Industries has also generated considerable optimism among market analysts. For the first time since 2017, none of the major analysts covering the company has a 'Hold' or 'Sell' rating on its stock, with all major analysts currently assigning it a 'Buy' rating'.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar