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Ambani’s Wealth Beats Tech Giants Elon Musk and Google Founders

Mukesh Ambani becomes the world’s sixth-richest person. 

Ambani’s Wealth Beats Tech Giants Elon Musk and Google Founders
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., center right, and his wife Nita Ambani greet other attendees as they arrive for a swearing in ceremony for the prime minister at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: T. Narayan/Bloomberg)

India’s richest man surged past Silicon Valley tech titan Elon Musk as well as Alphabet Inc. co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page to become the world’s sixth-richest person.

The chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., whose wealth surpassed Warren Buffett’s last week, is now worth $72.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Shares of the conglomerate have more than doubled from a low in March as its digital unit got billions in investments from companies including Facebook Inc., Silver Lake and, most recently, Qualcomm Inc.

Ambani’s Wealth Beats Tech Giants Elon Musk and Google Founders

Ambani’s energy empire is slowly shifting to e-commerce, with tech giants seeking to take a piece of India’s fast-growing digital business. The world’s second most-populous nation has seen a spike of foreign interest in its economy, especially from Silicon Valley, and Google said on Monday it will spend $10 billion in the coming years to help accelerate the adoption of digital technologies in the country.

After a drop in U.S. tech shares on Monday, Page’s fortune now stands at $71.6 billion, while Brin’s is at $69.4 billion and Tesla Inc.’s Musk is worth $68.6 billion. Buffett’s net worth dropped last week after he gave away $2.9 billion to charity.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.