Meet the 4 heirs poised to inherit Gautam Adani’s US$213 billion empire: Karan, Jeet, Pranav and Sagar – as the company owned by the second-richest man in Asia faces fraud and bribery allegations

You’ve heard of the Ambanis, who just held the “wedding of the year” when Anant Ambani tied the knot with Radhika Merchant. But now it’s time for another Indian dynasty to take over the internet – the Adanis. The Adani Group is led by billionaire Gautam Adani, the second richest man in Asia, per Forbes (Mukesh Ambani is No 1, of course). However, lately the group is facing a slew of controversies, including allegations of financial fraud and stock market manipulation from US short-seller Hindenburg Research, who claimed the group is orchestrating “the largest con in corporate history”. It’s also facing a reported investigation by the US Department of Justice into the company over suspicions of bribery. Amid all the hullabaloo, the tycoon reportedly announced his succession plans to Bloomberg, which the publication claims will be set in motion in the early 2030s, making way for his four heirs: sons Karan and Jeet, and nephews Pranav and Sagar, the last two sons of his brothers Vinod Adani and Rajesh Adani, respectively. However, company reps have since announced that the mogul was “misquoted” and did not, in fact, share a time frame for the transfer of leadership, nor did he announce “equal beneficial interest in the family trust” for the four heirs, as Bloomberg had reported. Instead, reps explained that he simply “mentioned the involvement of his two sons and two nephews in various businesses of the group”. Regardless, attention is now focused on the four potential heirs of the US$213 billion empire that spans industries like energy, transportation, data, food and real estate. So, what do we know about the four men who Gautam Adani says are “hungry for growth”? All four Adani heirs studied in the US Karan, managing director of Adani Ports and SEZ Limited, studied economics at Purdue University. Jeet, director of airports, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Pranav, managing director, of agro, oil and gas, studied business administration at Boston University. Finally, Sagar, executive director of Adani Green Energy Limited, studied economics at Brown University. Are the Adani heirs married? Karan married renowned lawyer Cyril Shroff’s daughter Paridhi Shroff in a lavish ceremony in Goa in 2013, with Mukesh Ambani and future Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in attendance. They have a daughter, eight-year-old Anuradha. Pranav is married to Namrata and they have two children, Param and Vani. Namrata is the non-executive director of Adani Enterprises and runs the NGO Abhisar that focuses on education and empowerment of women. Jeet recently got engaged to Diva Jaimin Shah in a reportedly low-key ceremony. She is the daughter of diamond trader Jaimin Shah. Sagar is reportedly the only bachelor among the four heirs. Right now, he’s reportedly focusing on building a renewable energy park that will be visible from space. Pranav Adani aims to redevelop Asia’s largest slum Pranav is helming an ambitious project of redeveloping Asia’s largest slum – Dharavi in Mumbai. It is home to about a million people and Adani aims to “change [their] lives”, according to an interview with Bloomberg. Despite political opposition and protests, Adani believes that the people of Dharavi are “fully supporting” the project to bring them out of “inhuman conditions”. Nevertheless, concerns about the residents’ livelihoods and possible eviction reportedly continue to loom. Karan Adani denies being born with a silver spoon In his interview with Bloomberg Television, Karan denied being “born into wealth”. “A large part of our childhood has been through a struggle as a family”, he claimed, adding that he saw his parents “aspiring for more and working hard”. Ultimately, he added, it was thanks to “support from the larger family” and “valuing what we have” that the Adanis got to where they are now. Jeet Adani thinks he can’t match up to his father Despite being named as a successor, Jeet admitted to Bloomberg that the four heirs – who Adani calls “G2” – will never match up to the OG. “We all realise as a group of four of us, that to put together our capabilities, are not going to be able to match up to his because he’s, you know, a once in a generation kind of entrepreneur,” he said. Nevertheless, the scion’s success mantra is “handle the right people and manage risk”.