Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani is no longer the wealthiest person in Asia: the energy magnate relinquished the title to Chinese tycoon, Jack Ma, after oil and global stocks took a heavy pounding late Tuesday.
Ambani reported a $5.8 billion loss in his fortune - in one day - as world financial markets continued to drop over coronavirus jitters and Reliance Industries' stocks were hammered due to the latest developments.
Based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Jack Ma has regained the top spot with a $44.5 billion wealth while Ambani moved aside with $42.2 billion.
Prices of oil dropped the most in almost three decades Monday as Russia and Saudi Arabia vowed to hike their production in a struggle for market share. The rout comes just as the virus is triggering the first drop in global demand in that span of time.
That raises doubts about whether Ambani's flagship Reliance Industries Ltd. will be able to reduce net debt to zero by early next year, as he has guaranteed. The plan is part of a bid to sell a share in the company's oil and petrochemicals units to Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the largest crude producer in the world.
Ambani came out as the second biggest loser last week next to Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg, Forbes disclosed, as world markets continued to retreat because of the coronavirus. With people scrapping travel plans due to the deadly outbreak, oil prices have reached their lowest levels in decades, dealing a heavy blow to the share price of Reliance Industries, which operates the world's largest refining facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
Just a handful of the world's tycoons fared well in Monday's plunge as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each fell over 7.5 percent, the most since the 2008 financial turmoil, threatening to end the longest bull market on record. But no one performed worse than those whose wealth is hinged on oil. Wildcatter Harold Hamm's wealth was slashed nearly 50 percent to $2.5 billion and fellow oil billionaire Jeff Hildebrand shed $3 billion, Bloomberg reported.
Ambani's Reliance Industries anticipated the Saudi Aramco deal to be finalized this month, but sources said last month that talks were still underway to iron out differences between the two side over the contract's details.
Adding to the worry, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration has urged a court to stop the planned share sale, putting in peril a major source of finances required to hedge debt.
