Gautam Adani, who applied to Jai Hind College in Mumbai in the late 1970s but was rejected, has since built a $220 billion empire and returned to the same college to deliver a lecture on Teachers’ Day.
Adani, who moved to Mumbai at age 16, began working as a diamond sorter. During this time, he applied to Jai Hind College, where his elder brother Vinod had previously studied. “But they rejected him,” said Vikram Nankani, President of the Jai Hind College Alumni Association, introducing Adani before his lecture.
Instead of pursuing higher education, Adani worked full-time and later started his own business. After initially running a packaging factory in Gujarat, he launched a commodities trading firm in 1998. Over the next 25 years, his company diversified into various sectors including ports, mines, infrastructure, power, city gas, renewable energy, cement, real estate, data centers, and media.
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Adani, now India’s second-richest person, operates 13 seaports, seven airports, and is a major player in power, renewable energy, and cement. He is also involved in building expressways and redeveloping large urban slums.
In his lecture, titled “Breaking Boundaries: The Power of Passion and Unconventional Paths to Success,” Adani reflected on his decision to move to Mumbai and forego formal education. “It had to do with giving up my education and choosing to move to an unknown future in Mumbai. People still ask me, ‘Why did you move to Mumbai? Why did you not complete your education?’ The answer lies in the heart of every young dreamer who sees boundaries not as barriers but as challenges that test his courage,” he said.
He described Mumbai as his training ground, where he learned the fundamentals of trading. “The field of trading makes a good teacher. I learnt very early that an entrepreneur can never be frozen by over-evaluating the choices in front of him,” he said. “It is Mumbai that taught me ‘To think big, you must first dare to dream beyond your boundaries.’”
Adani went on to establish a successful trading business and, after India’s 1991 economic liberalisation, formed a global trading house. “Within two years, we had become the largest global trading house in the country. This is when I understood the combined value of both speed and scale,” he said.
“Thereafter, in 1994, we decided that it was time to go public, and Adani Exports, now known as Adani Enterprises, launched its IPO. The IPO was a strong success and underscored for me the importance of public markets,” he said.
In the mid-1990s, Adani’s company received approval to build a jetty in Mundra, Gujarat, which was initially seen as barren land. “What others saw as marshy barren land, I saw as a canvas waiting to be transformed. That canvas is now by far India’s largest port,” he said.
Adani is currently developing the world’s largest renewable energy park in Kutch and redeveloping Dharavi slums in Mumbai.
“While we have helped redefine India’s infrastructure across airports, ports, logistics, industrial parks, and energy, it is not the victories that define us. It is the mindset to take on and overcome challenges that have shaped the Adani Group’s journey,” he added.
From: financialexpress
Financial News
