Who are the Richest People in India? Mukesh Ambani continues to be the richest Indian, while Gautam Adani is the fastest to become a Top 10 billionaire according to Forbes. Among the nation’s 100 richest, eleven business tycoons saw their wealth jump by $1 billion or more.
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Oil and gas tycoon Mukesh Ambani continues to maintain the top spot for the 11th year in a row, with a net worth of $47.3 billion. He is also the year’s biggest gainer adding $9.3 billion to his wealth amid the ongoing success of his Reliance Jio broadband telco service.
Wipro Chairman Azim Premji retains the second spot, his wealth rising $2 billion to $21 billion. ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal (No. 3, $18.3 billion) added $1.8 billion to his net worth and moves up one spot. The Hinduja brothers are placed at the No. 4 spot with a net worth of $18 billion. Rounding out the top five is Pallonji Mistry, with a fortune of $15.7 billion, according to Forbes Rankings.
The biggest percentage gainer of the year is biotech queen Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (No. 39), one of only four women on the list. Her net worth rose 66.7% to $3.6 billion. Shares of her Biocon nearly doubled in the past 12 months.
Among the notable gainers on the list is the founder of mobile payments giant Paytm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma (No. 74). In August, billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway invested $300 million in Sharma’s firm, valuing Paytm north of $10 billion and helping to boost the 40-year-old’s net worth to $2.15 billion.
Overall, close to half of the listees saw their fortunes shrink, with six of them losing $1 billion or more. Acharya Balkrishna (No. 25, $4.8 billion), the co-founder of herbal consumer goods maker Patanjali Ayurved, saw his wealth fall by more than a fourth as sales slowed.
Among the five newcomers this year are south Indian infrastructure magnate P.P. Reddy (No. 47, $3.1 billion) of Megha Engineering & Infrastructure and Krishna Kumar Bangur (No. 91, $1.7 billion), who controls 65% of Graphite India, which is benefiting from acute demand from the steel sector for its graphite electrodes. Graphite India also made its maiden appearance on Forbes Asia’s Best Under A Billion list this year. Bangur, a Singapore permanent resident since 2012, is part of a growing tribe of Indian tycoons opting for a foothold overseas while retaining business interests in India.
There are three returnees to the list: Devendra Jain (No. 94, $1.6 billion) of Gujarat Fluorochemicals, brothers Bhavin and Divyank Turakhia (No. 97, $1.55 billion) of tech group Directi, and Bhadresh Shah (No. 100, $1.48 billion) of AIA Engineering. India’s 100 wealthiest are all billionaires; the minimum amount required to make the list is $1.48 billion, up from $1.46 billion last year.
The top 10 richest in India are:
- Mukesh Ambani; US$47.3 billion
- Azim Premji; $21 billion
- Lakshmi Mittal; $18.3 billion
- Hinduja brothers; $18 billion
- Pallonji Mistry; $15.7 billion
- Shiv Nadar; $14.6 billion
- Godrej family; $14 billion
- Dilip Shanghvi; $12.6 billion
- Kumar Birla; $12.5 billion
- Gautam Adani; $11.9 billion
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