Ahmedabad:

Billionaire Gautam Adani, a college dropout who built a multi-billion dollar infrastructure empire spanning ports to energy, on Monday revealed that he made a commission of Rs 10,000 from his first trade at the age of 19.

Born in Ahmedabad, Gautam Adani, 62, moved to Mumbai at the age of 16 and joined a diamond assortment company. He quickly picked up trade and in about three years, started his own diamond trading brokerage in Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazar.

“I still recall the day I did my first trade with a Japanese buyer. I made a commission of Rs 10,000. I was 19 years old, and this was the start of my journey as an entrepreneur,” he said while speaking at the Adani International School here.

This was in the year 1981.

He soon returned to Gujarat to help his elder brother Mahasukhbhai run a small-scale PVC film factory the family had acquired in Ahmedabad. In 1988, he set up a commodities trading venture under Adani Exports and listed it on the bourses in 1994. The firm is now called Adani Enterprises.

Gautam Adani started operating a port at Mundra on the Gujarat coast a decade later. He grew the business to become India’s largest port operator. There was no looking back after that. He rapidly expanded his business empire into power generation, mining, edible oil, gas distribution, and renewable energy. His business interests expanded into airports, cement, and, more recently, media.

He is today the world’s 19th richest person with a wealth of USD 76 billion.

“Sixteen years of age — buying a train ticket at the Ahmedabad railway station and boarding the Gujarat mail to Mumbai with nothing much in my pocket had me both excited and nervous,” Gautam Adani recalled.

“A question I often get is if I have any regrets that I did not go to college. Reflecting on my life and the different turns it took, I now do believe that I would have benefitted if I had finished college.” He said while his early experiences made him wise, he now realises that formal education rapidly expands one’s knowledge. “To acquire wisdom, one must experience life — but to acquire knowledge, one must study. These are complementary. And although I will never really know, I do reflect at times that the expansion in my abilities may have been faster had I gone to college.” Failures and setbacks will test but they are not the opposite of success, he said, adding that failures are the most important companion of success. “The only difference between ordinary and extraordinary success is resilience — the courage to rise after every fall,” he said.

Gautam Adani said when he started his journey, he did not have a roadmap, resources or connections. “All I had was a dream — a dream to build something meaningful, something that could contribute to boosting my own confidence. I would dream of this every single day. And as I look back, I can say that dreams are not the privilege of the rich. They are the reward of those who dare to believe and work tirelessly.” While the Adani Group is India’s fastest growing conglomerate today, and has set the pace to create more new businesses than any other business house in the country, its journey is not just about creating businesses.

He told students that the walls of any classroom should not define the limits of their dreams. “Let this classroom be the launchpad for your aspirations. Don’t just absorb the knowledge, let it ignite your imagination and drive your ambitions.” He gave students three guiding principles — dream relentlessly, lean relentlessly, and build relentlessly.

The first is about not limiting oneself to small ambitions, the second is about the future belonging to those who are willing to learn, and the third principle is about building something larger than oneself.

“Create businesses that solve the world’s challenges. Lead with integrity and compassion. Innovate in ways that inspire the next generation. Push the boundaries of what you think is possible. I want to see 100 Gautam Adani’s emerge from here. But not just to follow my path. I want you to build your own,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

New Delhi:

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani has said he always feels that he has reached the position with the Almighty’s blessings who guides him to do what he is doing and that the money and all the individual needs are very marginal.

“I come from a very humble family background, and no matter what stage I reach, when I close my eyes, I often feel that I have not reached this place solely because of my abilities. My Almighty is there, guiding me in what I do. Ultimately, money and material things are very, very marginal beyond fulfilling basic individual needs.”

He said this during his interaction with Guru Prasad Swami Maharaj, Chairman of the Governing Body Commission of ISKCON in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and the Adani Group have joined hands to serve meals to devotees at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, which begins on Monday. The Mahaprasad Seva will be offered for the entire duration of the Maha Kumbh Mela, from January 13 January to February 26.

The Chairman of the Adani Group stated that the group will always support society. “We will continue to rely on you to help society with your assistance… It will truly be a privilege and honor for us as well. You have a remarkable organization and delivery systems that ultimately reach millions of people,” he conveyed to Swami Maharaj.

Guru Prasad Swami Maharaj, Chairman, Governing Body Commission, ISKCON and Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani shared their mutual respect and admiration for ISKCON.

Swami Maharaj emphasized the importance of serving the Supreme with life, energy, wealth, and words, as described in the ‘shastras’.

Gautam Adani expressed his deep connection with ISKCON and praised the institution for its capability to provide Prasadam during the Maha Kumbh 2025.

He later posted on X (in Hindi), “Kumbh is that sacred land of service where every hand automatically gets engaged in charity! It is my good fortune that in Maha Kumbh, in collaboration with @IskconInc, we are starting ‘Mahaprasad Seva’ for the devotees, in which free food will be provided to lakhs of people with the blessings of Maa Annapurna…”

कुंभ सेवा की वो तपोभूमि है जहां हर हाथ स्वतः ही परमार्थ में जुट जाता है!

यह मेरा सौभाग्य है कि महाकुम्भ में हम @IskconInc के साथ मिलकर श्रद्धालुओं के लिए ‘महाप्रसाद सेवा’ आरम्भ कर रहे हैं, जिसमें मां अन्नपूर्णा के आशीर्वाद से लाखों लोगों को निःशुल्क भोजन उपलब्ध कराया जाएगा।

इस… pic.twitter.com/0DMlzO56hY

— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) January 9, 2025

Gautam Adani said that he got the opportunity to meet ISKCON Guru Prasad Swamiji and deeply experience the power of dedication towards service.

“In the true sense, service is the highest form of patriotism. Service is sadhana, service is prayer and service is God,” he said

The Adani Group has also collaborated with the Geeta Press and will offer one crore copies of ‘Aarti Sangrah’ free of cost. In a post (in Hindi) on social media platform X, Gautam Adnai wrote, “Maha Kumbh is the great yagna of Indian culture and religious faith! It is a matter of immense satisfaction for us that in this Mahayagna, with the cooperation of the esteemed institution Geeta Press, we are offering one crore copies of ‘Aarti Sangrah’ free of cost to the devotees who have come to Kumbh.”

He said that he was inspired by meeting the respected officials of the Gita Press who have been serving the nation for 100 years through Sanatan literature and had the privilege of expressing his gratitude for the excellent service work of Gita Press. “Selfless service and a sense of responsibility towards religion and culture is a form of patriotism to which we are all committed. Service is sadhana, service is prayer and service is God,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)