The Wealth Gap Widens Further in India
November 5, 2022
In September, the media in India extensively reported that Gautam Adani surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the world’s second richest person, according to estimates by Forbes.
“Adani trails Tesla's Elon Musk, who remains the world's richest man,” noted India Today. Adani was “only one among the world’s 10 wealthiest people to have seen his net worth increase this year,” stated Livemint.
Adani, 60 -years-old, based in Ahmedabad, India, is the chairperson of the Adani Group. It runs the Mumbai airport and other airports, Mundra, India’s largest port and other ports, power generation and transmission, green energy, edible oils, cement and real estate businesses in India and abroad.
In 2014, Adani’s net worth was $2.8 billion, according to Forbes. He is from Gujerat. That year Narendra Modi, the former Chief Minister of Gujerat, took over as India’s Prime Minister. Since then, Adani’s net worth has rocketed up nearly 50-fold to $140 billion.
Back in 2014, Mukesh Ambani, 65, was the richest Indian, with a net worth of $19 billion. Today he is number two with a net worth of $104 billion. He runs Reliance Industries, whose businesses range from energy to mobile telecom.
Last month, the combined wealth of the richest 100 persons in India was estimated to total $800 billion.
The wealth of the billionaires in India has increased more than 10-fold over the past decade “as the richest have cornered a huge part of the wealth created through crony capitalism and inheritance,” notes a report by Oxfam International, the British philanthropy that seeks to fight inequality to end poverty and injustice.
About 670 million, who comprise the poorest half of India’s population, saw their incomes rise by only 1% during the decade.
The infant mortality rates in the poorest Indian states are higher than those in sub-Saharan Africa. India accounts for 17% of global maternal deaths, and a fifth of deaths among children below five years.
Many Indians are unable to access the healthcare they need. Each year, around 60 million Indians are pushed into poverty by the burden of healthcare costs, Oxfam states.
Oxfam notes that “inequality has been rising sharply for the last three decades” in India, making it “one of the most unequal countries” in the world.
