Billionaire enlists Mayo Clinic to help build two hospital campuses in India

Mayo Clinic is being brought on to support billionaire Gautam Adani’s plans for two new affordable hospital campuses in India.

The hospitals, to be built in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, were announced this week by Adani’s firm, the Adani Group, as part of a $690 million pledge to bring “affordable, world-class health care to people from every section to Indian society.”

While India has made significant strides over the past two decades in health outcomes, significant disparities remain between the rich and poor. The country’s spending on public health compared to GDP is among the lowest in the world, leaving tens of millions to go without care or risk crippling debt.

“I am confident that our engagement with Mayo Clinic, the world’s largest integrated not-for-profit medical group practice, will help to elevate health care standards in India, with a special emphasis on complex disease care and medical innovation,” Adani said in a statement.

The hospitals will be the first to be built as part of what’s being dubbed Adani Health City. The campuses will follow an integrated approach that will include a 1,000-bed hospital, medical college and research facilities.

In developing the campuses, the Adani Group will rely on Mayo for consultation on clinical practices and technology, according to the announcement. However, unlike a since-discontinued venture in Abu Dhabi, the Rochester-based health system will not own, operate or staff the hospitals.

“This is strictly advisory; it is not a joint venture or a partnership,” Mayo spokesperson Elizabeth Baxter said in an email.

The hospitals, in two of India’s most populous cities, are part of a pledge by Adani to invest billions into improving health care and education in his home country.

Adani, with an estimated net worth of about $70 billion, is one of the richest people in Asia. His company has made much of its fortune from mining, shipping and coal burning. It operates both the country’s largest airport and its biggest shipping port.

Adani’s business practices, however, have come under scrutiny in recent years. In 2024, he was indicted in a federal court in New York for his role in an alleged $250 million bribery scheme. Adani has called those claims “baseless.”

The investigation appears to be on hold after President Trump signed an executive order this week halting prosecutions of firms accused of bribery abroad. The order comes just days before Indian President Narendra Modi, who reportedly has close ties to Adani, is set to arrive in the U.S. to meet with Trump.

For Mayo, the collaboration with the Adani Group marks the system’s second foray into health care in India. It also works with AIG Hospitals in India through the Mayo Clinic Care Network. As part of the agreement, Mayo provides expertise and educational support to the hospitals, which operate independently.