Asia’s second-richest person among world’s biggest wealth losers following record IPO

Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of India's largest company Reliance Industries, saw his net worth drop by $2.6 billion, according to Forbes' real-time data. His wealth fell to $79.9 billion, marking him as the third-largest wealth loser globally on Thursday morning. Only Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg experienced steeper declines in their fortunes, by $18.4 billion and $2.6 billion respectively.

Ambani's conglomerate, Reliance Industries, had a remarkable debut on the Indian market with its telecom-to-digital firm Reliance Jio Platforms. The company's shares surged 27% in its Mumbai debut, catapulting Reliance Industries to become India's second-largest company by market capitalization, just behind Tata Group. Jio's valuation, around $137 billion, also contributed to an overall increase in Reliance's market capitalization to $320 billion, surpassing the Tata Group.

This landmark event, the first for the Reliance conglomerate in two decades, marks Ambani's ambition to transform Reliance from an oil-and-chemicals conglomerate into a diverse company encompassing consumer products and technology. Ambani's plan was evident during the Jio listing ceremony in Mumbai, attended by family members, including his eldest son Akash, who is Jio's managing director.

Despite the positive market debut, Reliance Industries shares ended the trading day at their lowest level in nearly three years, slipping 2%. The stock has lost 26.5% of its value so far this year, negatively impacting Ambani's net worth. Ambani's family reportedly holds a 50% stake in the company. The share price decline can be attributed to volatility in Indian equities, uncertainty about energy markets, and concerns over global economic growth, as reported by The Economic Times.

In Asia, Ambani ranks second in wealth, trailing behind TikTok co-founder Zhang Yiming, who manages $84 billion in assets.