He dropped out of formal education at the age of 16 in 1978 to take a train to Mumbai to try his luck and three years later made his first killing -- a Rs 10,000 commission doing a diamond trade with a Japanese buyer.

That marked the beginning of the entrepreneurial journey of Gautam Adani, now Asia's richest man. He, however, regrets not finishing college, saying early experiences made him wise but formal education rapidly expands one's knowledge.

 Speaking at the 75th year celebrations of Vidya Mandir Trust Palanpur in Gujarat, Adani recounted his phenomenal journey that has made his group the world's largest solar power company, largest airport and sea port operator in India, nation's largest integrated energy player, country's second largest cement manufacturer and a conglomerate with market capitalisation of over USD 225 billion -- all in a span of four-and-a-half decades.

"One question I often get is if I have any regrets that I did not go to college. Reflecting on my life and the different turns it took, I - now - do believe that I would have benefitted if I had finished college. While my early experiences made me wise, I now realize that formal education rapidly expands one's knowledge," said Adani, who largely spoke in Gujarati, with a sprinkling of English.

"To acquire wisdom, one must experience but to acquire knowledge, one must study," he added.

These, he said, are complementary. "And although I will never really know, I do reflect at times that the expansion in my abilities may have been faster had I gone to college."

Adani, 60, started off as a trader and has been on a rapid diversification spree, expanding an empire centered on ports and coal mining to include airports, data centers and cement as well as green energy.