Gautam Adani was the world's third and Asia's richest man a month back but a damning report by Hindenburg  Research triggered a massive sell-off in shares of his apples-to-airport group, plunging his own wealth by USD 80 billion and the tycoon slipping to No.30 on the world billionaire index.

Adani's sprawling conglomerate, which spans from sea ports to airports, edible oil and commodities, energy, cement and data centres, is under attack by US short-seller Hindenburg Research.

Hindenburg, which held short positions in unidentified shares of Adani Group firms through its US-traded debt and offshore derivatives, on January 24 accused the conglomerate of "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud" and using a number of offshore shell companies to inflate stock prices.

Since the Hindenburg report, the group's 10 listed companies have lost Rs 12.06 lakh crore, nearly equivalent to the market capitalisation of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Group's founder chairman Gautam Adani, 60, a first-generation entrepreneur, has lost USD 80.6 billion in wealth, which was primarily based on valuation of his holding in group companies.

Gautham Adani: Group's founder chairman Gautam Adani, 60, a first-generation entrepreneur, has lost USD 80.6 billion in wealth, which was primarily based on valuation of his holding in group companies. He was worth USD 120 billion before Hindenburg report but now is ranked No.30 on the world billionaire index with about USD 40 billion networth. Rival Mukesh Ambani, whom he had overtaken last year to become Asia's richest and the world's third most wealthy businessman, is now ranked No.10 with USD 81.7 billion wealth.

Follow-on Public Offer (FPO): The Hindenburg report came just as Adani Enterprises opened a Rs 20,000 crore follow-on share sale - the second largest in India. Originally, the shares were offered at a discount to the market price but the report caused a deep sell-off, the shares fell below the offering price.

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