Asia’s richest man Gautam Adani and his family have pledged to donate 60,000 crore ($7.7 billion) for social causes to mark his 60th birthday.
Adani told Bloomberg in an interview on Thursday that the charity will be managed by the Adani Foundation to promote health care, education and skills development.
“This is one of the largest transfers made to a foundation in Indian corporate history,” he said, adding that the commitment also honors the birth centenary of his father, Shantilal Adani.
The Indian tycoon, a first-generation entrepreneur, who turned 60 on Friday, joins the ranks of global billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffett, who have donated the bulk of their wealth to philanthropy. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a net worth of about $92 billion, Adani has added a little more than $15 billion to his wealth this year – the biggest gainer globally, the index shows.
“We will invite three expert committees in the coming months to formalize the strategy and decide the allocation of funds in these three areas,” he said. He said the committees would have members of the Adani family in supporting roles.
The Adani Group, which started with a small agri-business firm in 1988, has now grown into a conglomerate that specializes in coal trading, mining, logistics, power generation and distribution and more recently, green energy, airports, data Centers and spreads the cement.