The fortunes of Indian billionaires, such as Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, plummeted on Tuesday as the nation’s stock markets took a nosedive. This drastic fall occurred amidst election results indicating a narrow victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s coalition, which diverged significantly from exit poll predictions of a landslide. With nearly two-thirds of the votes counted, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 243 out of the 543 contested seats—falling short of the 272 needed for a majority. This shortfall means Modi will likely need substantial support from his coalition partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to form a government.
The markets experienced a steep decline on Tuesday, with the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex Index dropping nearly 6% during late afternoon trading. This was in stark contrast to Monday, when stocks surged in response to exit polls forecasting a sweeping victory for Modi and between 370-400 seats for the NDA.
Gautam Adani, Asia’s wealthiest individual and India’s second-richest person, benefited greatly from Monday’s stock market rally. However, his fortune tumbled from nearly $100 billion to $79.2 billion on Tuesday as the selloff impacted his conglomerate’s publicly listed companies, according to Forbes’ real-time tracker. The Adani Group’s flagship, Adani Enterprises, fell 19% to $35.3 (₹2,950) in late afternoon trading, while the conglomerate’s other firms—Adani Power, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Ports—all declined between 19-22%.
Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest person, also saw his wealth diminish due to Tuesday’s sell-off, with his net worth dropping by $2.6 billion to $106.9 billion. The Adani Group’s listed companies experienced a total market value loss of $45 billion on Tuesday, as reported by Bloomberg, while the overall Indian stock market lost $386 billion.
Other Indian billionaires also suffered substantial losses. Savitri Jindal, chair of the steel firm Jindal Group, and her family’s net worth fell by $2.1 billion to $35.5 billion. Jindal officially joined Modi’s party in March, and her son Naveen Jindal is a BJP candidate in the national elections. Kumar Mangalam Birla, chair of the Aditya Birla Group, saw his net worth decrease by $839 million to $21.1 billion.
India’s six-week election concluded on Saturday, followed by exit poll data from news outlets and pollsters showing a landslide win for Modi and his party. The polls predicted the Modi-led coalition would secure between 360-400 seats, nearly achieving a super majority in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. However, actual results show the ruling party not only missed these predictions but also fell below their 2019 performance, where the coalition won 352 seats. The opposition coalition, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), led by the Indian National Congress, is ahead in 231 seats, a significant increase from 94 in 2019. The final results are expected on Tuesday evening, though experts believe a major shift in numbers is unlikely.