FX.co ★ Billionaires with biggest gains in 2022

Gautam Adani

Gautam Adani, India’s richest businessman, was the biggest gainer in 2022. The billionaire’s net worth rose by $55 billion, an almost threefold increase. Adani is valued at about $134 billion, which makes him the world’s third richest person, behind only Bernard Arnault and Elon Musk. The Indian entrepreneur benefitted from the rising market capitalization of his conglomerate, Adani Group, which surpassed the $280 billion mark in November 2022.

Low Tuck Kwong

The coal industry, which was often regarded as being on its last legs due to the global green energy drive, was revived by the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Western countries. As global demand for coal surged last year, the share price of Indonesia’s Bayan Resources tripled. This brought massive gains to its owner, Low Tuck Kwong, whose fortune skyrocketed to $18.6 billion from $2.6 billion in 2022.

Colin Zheng Huang

The past year was a successful period for Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo. Despite China’s economic woes, the company’s earnings jumped by 65% in the third quarter of 2022, pushing its share price up by 35% year-over-year. As a result, the net worth of Pinduoduo’s owner, Colin Zheng Huang, increased by more than $11 billion. It is now estimated at $31.6 billion.

Wu Yiling

Wu Yiling is the owner of Chinese pharmaceutical company Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical. The company’s performance was boosted by increased sales of its drug Lianhua Qingwen, which was originally developed as a flu medicine in 2003. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was also used to treat mild coronavirus symptoms. Thanks to higher revenues due to the renewed outbreak of the disease in China in 2022, Wu Yiling’s fortune jumped by more than $4 billion to about $7 billion.

Ravi Jaipuria

The fifth billionaire on the list is Ravi Jaipuria. In 2022, the Indian businessman’s net worth climbed by almost $4 billion to more than $9 billion. These substantial gains reflect the excellent performance of his companies. For example, shares of his main company Varun Beverages, which produces PepsiCo’s soft drinks for the Indian market, more than doubled last year.