Decoding The Adani Phenomenon
“The story of Gautam Adani is different from most other stories. He is the quintessential trader. He has a trader’s instinct,” says author-journalist R N Bhaskar.
Speaking at the Mumbai chapter of IBLF, Bhaskar said: “If he did not have a trader’s instinct, Mundra won’t have succeeded. Everywhere he saw an opportunity, he was there. Whether it was ports or power or coal, he has succeeded.”
Bhaskar is the author of “Gautam Adani: Reimagining Business in India & the World”.
The Consulting Editor of “Free Press Journal”, Mentor, Founder & Editor of asiaconverge.com went on to cite examples. “When he wanted ports, he asked his people to buy dredgers. He kept on buying, and today he has 60 dredgers which he lends out to others. Similarly, when he went into electricity, he talked to KV Kamath to set up a 330 MW power station. Kamath said ‘why not, I will give you the money’. He went and told his people: ‘let’s build four times the capacity, money is available’. That’s how he got into power generation.”
Bhaskar shared more insights about the Adani phenomenon. “There is one more thing about Gautam Adani that nobody in the world may have seen. He values and retains relationships. Most of his partnerships, except in ports and defence, are 50-50 partnerships. Normal is 51:49, 76:24. He said ‘no, we will have 50-50 partnerships’. That man has the talent, he knows the Indian business… He probably believes in the dictum: ‘it’s his company and my company’,” he said, about Adani’s signature business style.
What inspired Bhaskar, to write a book about India’s richest man, who is otherwise known to be a very shy person? Said Bhaskar: “It wasn’t easy… I was lucky. I did my first cover story on Gautam Adani in 2007 and the title was ‘The Man who could Change India’. Eighteen years later, I realised he has indeed changed India. I had to struggle for three years to get permission to write the book”.
He added that he was clear about what he wanted to write. “I saw him as a wealth generator. The first Indian to reach among the Top 5.”
