Adani, Ambani not spared in market crash: Indian billionaires lost over $10 billion on 'Black Monday'

Stock benchmarks clocked their worst session in 10 months on Monday as a selloff fueled by US tariffs intensified and investors dumped riskier assets on growing fears of a global recession. This came after US President Donald Trump's tariff hikes and retaliation from China fanned fears that a full-blown trade war will impact economic growth across the globe.

Dalal Street investors were a poorer lot as their wealth eroded sharply by Rs 14 lakh crore following a sharp decline in benchmark indices amid a global market meltdown due to recession fears.

The market crash aftershocks did not spare even the country’s top four billionaires Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Jindal and Shiv Nadar as all of them lost over $10 billion combined, as stated by the Forbes’ real-time billionaire list.

Chairman of Reliance Industries and the richest person in India, Mukesh Ambani lost $3.6 billion, which brought his net worth down to $87.7 billion, a report in India Today said. When the markets recovered slightly on Tuesday, the Reliance boss gained back some of his wealth.

Gautam Adani also saw a $3 billion drop in his fortune. His net worth stood at $57.3 billion, which also recovered slightly on Tuesday.

On the other hand, owners of the OP Jindal Group, Savitri Jindal & family, positioned 45th globally, experienced a loss of $2.2 billion bringing down their net worth to $33.9 billion.

Founder of HCL Technologies, Shiv Nadar’s fortune stood at $30.9 billion after bearing a loss of $1.5 billion.

Shiv Nadar, founder of HCL Technologies, also took a hit. His fortune fell by $1.5 billion to $30.9 billion.

It was Black Monday for global markets as fears of an economic slowdown in the United States due to President Donald Trump's tariffs, and the real possibility of further retaliatory tariff action by other nations, spooked investors worldwide.

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty logged their worst single-day decline in 10 months, and the rupee had its worst day in three months. Meanwhile, global equities got hammered, with the key MSCI Asia Pacific Index witnessing its biggest slump since the 2008 financial crisis.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 2,226.79 points, or 2.95 per cent , to settle at 73,137.90. During the day, it had dropped 5.22 per cent . Investors on Sensex lost Rs 14.09 lakh crore on the day. The 50-share NSE Nifty tumbled 742.85 points, or 3.24 per cent , to settle at 22,161.60. Intra-day, it had fallen 5.06 per cent .

"The markets tumbled as the carnage over high US tariffs and the retaliation by other countries may kickstart a trade war. Sectors like IT and metals have underperformed relative to the broader market due to the risk of high inflation with slower growth that may result in a potential recession in the US," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd.

Nair said that though the overall impact on India may be limited compared with other countries, investors are advised to play cautiously during this fray. Focus will be on pure-play domestic themes, where the rebound is likely to be fair when the dust settles, he added.

Not only did the Indian billionaires take a blow at their fortunes, the Monday market crash also did not spare global billionaires.

On Monday, Tesla CEO Elonb Musk’s wealth fell by $130 billion this year to $302 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos lost $45.2 billion which brought his fortunes down to $193 billion. Down by $28.1 billion to $179 billion, stood Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth. Bill Gates’ fortunes fell by $3.38 billion, making his net worth $155 billion, similar to that of Warren Buffet.

However, unlike other billionaires, even after the market crash, Buffet stood at $155 billion after $12.7 billion was added to his fortune this year.

Among global markets, MSCI Asia ex-Japan index lost 8.3 per cent . Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 7.8 per cent , while European stocks plunged with Germany's Dax falling 5.3 per cent and the British FTSE shedding 4.1 per cent .

The S&P 500 and the Dow closed lower on Monday after a roller coaster session, with investors worried about an economic slowdown and rising inflation as US President Donald Trump dug in his heels on tariffs, warning he could further increase levies on China.

Wall Street equities have been hammered since Trump's sweeping tariffs, announced late Wednesday, on all imports into the U.S. and much higher levies on some major trading partners.

In Monday morning trading, the S&P 500 had fallen 20 per cent below its record closing high. The index briefly rallied more than 3 per cent , after a news report said Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs. White House officials quickly denied the report, sending the market back into the red.

(With PTI, Reuters and DHNS inputs)