’Hindenburg report tried to shake our foundation but...’: Gautam Adani recalls rout prompted by US short seller

The report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research was an effort to shake the foundation of the Adani Group but the conglomerate stood firm, its Chairman Gautam Adani said in a speech in Mumbai. He said that the report tried to politically defame India's governance practices.

"Last year, January 24, we were subject to a massive attack by a US short seller. The objective was just not to destabilise us, but also to politically defame India's governance practices. Despite the efforts to shake our foundation, we stood firm, not just safeguarding our reputation but also ensuring we remained focused on our operations," he said.

The Hindenburg Research had last year released a report alleging money laundering and manipulation of stock prices by Adani Group. It led to a massive sell-off in the Adani group stocks, leading to a steep fall in Adani's net worth. The group denied all wrongdoing.

Later, the Supreme Court formed a committee to probe the charges against the group. It has also asked the markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India to investigate if the report harmed any Indian investors.

In his speech, Adani also remembered his early days in Mumbai. "I worked for four years in Mumbai in the diamond business. Mumbai is a unique place. It is a city where every heartbeat echoes – Think Big – Dream Bigger and what Mumbai really taught me - was to aspire," he said.

Adani also said that he started his entrepreneurship journey in my teens.

"Entrepreneurship is about taking risks and being ok with sometimes getting lost, sometimes falling – but every time I was lost, every time I fell, I was still able to find my way back and I was still able to get up. I never feared falling. All success will come with its challenges and its challengers. Every fall comes with its pains, but every rise comes with its gains," he said.

"This gain is called resilience and in the game of resilience, your mind will be both – the battleground and the weapon...Every business that I have built has been far more difficult than I had anticipated and over the years I have become wiser in my belief that only if I am able to embrace complexity better than others will I be able to differentiate."

As compared to the lows following the report last year, the Adani Group's market cap has more than doubled now. Adani, who was once on his way to become the world's second richest, has steadily been regaining his wealth. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, so far in 2024, Adani's net worth has surged $15.6 billion. On Wednesday, Adani's total net worth was close to $100 billion at $99.9 billion and he was 13th richest person on the planet and second richest in India only behind Reliance's Mukesh Ambani.