Gautam Adani’s pay lags behind his own executives in FY24. Here’s what salary the billionaire got

India's second richest person, Gautam Adani, received a total remuneration of ₹9.26 crore in 2024, lower than his key executives and other industry peers. An annual report of the Adani Group's 10 listed entities showed that the industrialist drew a salary from only two of his 10 companies in the ports-to-energy conglomerate.

For the 2023-24 period, his compensation from Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), the group's flagship company, comprised a salary of ₹2.19 crore and perquisites, allowances, and other benefits amounting to ₹27 lakh. This brought his total remuneration to ₹2.46 crore, reflecting a 3% increase from the previous financial year. In addition, he drew ₹6.8 crore from Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ), as per AEL's 2023-24 annual report.

Adani's younger brother, Rajesh, received ₹8.37 crore, which included a ₹4.71 crore profit commission from AEL. His nephew, Pranav Adani, earned ₹6.46 crore, including a ₹4.5 crore commission, PTI reported.

Gautam Adani did not receive any commission from AEL but was awarded ₹5 crore from APSEZ. His remuneration from APSEZ comprised a ₹1.8 crore salary and a ₹5 crore commission, which will be payable in the 2024-25 fiscal year, as stated in the company's annual report.

His son, Karan, earned ₹3.9 crore from APSEZ. Gautam Adani's brother, nephew, and son did not receive salaries from multiple companies. Vinay Prakash, a key executive and director on the AEL board, received total compensation of ₹89.37 crore. Group CFO Jugeshinder Singh's salary was ₹9.45 crore.

"We reported an average remuneration increase of 12 per cent for employees, excluding key managerial personnel (KMPs), with a slightly higher increase of 5.37 per cent for KMPs," the AEL annual report said as quoted by PTI.

While Mukesh Ambani, India's wealthiest businessman, has forgone his entire salary since the onset of COVID-19—previously capping it at ₹15 crore—Adani's pay is significantly lower than that of telecom magnate Sunil Bharti Mittal ( ₹16.7 crore in 2022-23), Rajiv Bajaj ( ₹53.7 crore), Pawan Munjal ( ₹80 crore), L&T Chairman S N Subrahmanyan, and Infosys CEO Salil S Parekh.

Adani, valued at USD 106 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, has been competing with Mukesh Ambani for the title of Asia's richest person. Adani briefly held the top spot in 2022 but lost it after a critical report from US short-seller Hindenburg Research led to a significant drop in his group's market value, erasing nearly USD 150 billion at its lowest point last year.

(With PTI inputs)