As India’s ranking in democracy and global Hunger Index slips to dangerous levels, there is one list where India or some Indians are climbing, the list of India’s richest billionaires. According to the Forbes 2022, Gautam Adani has bagged the top stop followed by Mukesh Ambani who is 2nd on the list.
As per the list, the combined wealth of India’s 100 richest grew by $25 billion to touch $800 billion. The wealth grew despite the stock market down marginally from a year ago with the biggest dampener being a weaker rupee, which fell by 10 percent over the same period.
Gautam Adani tripled his wealth in 2021 and gradually shot up to become the country’s wealthiest person. As per the report, his fortunes doubled to $150 billion in 2022 and that was a major contributor in the rise of the richest 100 list. He is the second richest on the planet.
The Adani Group boss, who owns the country’s largest port in Gujarat’s Mundra, has a net worth of ₹1,211,460.11 crore.
Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani are said to account for about 30 per cent of the total wealth of the country’s richest.
The report noted that the rise was mainly due to a record-breaking feat by Adani group chairman Gautam Adani, whose wealth doubled this year to $150 billion, making him the richest Indian and replacing Reliance Industries (RIL) chairman & managing director Mukesh Ambani at the top of the list.
India’s richest person has a net worth of $150 billion while richest woman has a net worth of $16.4 billion. There are nine women on the list. The cut-off to be on the list is $1.9 billion. The full top 100 richest Indians list can be checked here.
Here’s a look at the top 10 richest Indians in the Forbes 2022 list:
1. Gautam Adani (net worth $150 billion)
Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani has a net worth of Rs 1,211,460.11 crore. According to Forbes, Adani had tripled his wealth last year and this year he has become India’s richest person for the first time. With a $75.2 billion wealth gain in a year, Adani is the biggest wealth gainer in absolute and percentage terms.
2. Mukesh Ambani (net worth $88 billion)
RIL Chairman & MD Mukesh Ambani’s net worth stands at Rs 710,723.26 crore. In dollar terms, his net worth stands at $88 billion, down 5 percent from last year.
3. Radhakishan Damani (net worth $27.6 billion)
Radhakishan Damani owns the DMart chain of supermarkets. According to Forbes data, he has a net worth of Rs 222,908.66 crore. In 2002, Damani entered the retail business with one store and now there are 271 DMart stores in India. He broke into the top three for the first time though his net worth declined by 6 per cent to $27.6 billion.
4. Cyrus Poonawalla (net worth $21.5 billion)
Cyrus Poonawalla is the chairman of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII). His net worth stands at Rs 173,642.62 crore. SII has multiple partnerships to make Covid-19 vaccines. Cyrus Poonawalla’s assets also include stud farms. He is fourth on the list with a fortune of $21.5 billion.
5. Shiv Nadar (net worth $21.4 billion)
Shiv Nadar is the chairman emeritus of HCL Technologies and has a net worth of Rs 172,834.97 crore. Nadar is considered as one of the pioneers of the Indian IT industry. He has donated $662 million to education-related causes, a record this year. His net worth saw a $9.6 billion decline, the biggest drop in net worth in absolute terms, but despite the fall, Nadar retains his spot in the Top 10.
6. Savitri Jindal (net worth $16.4 billion)
Savitri Jindal is the chairperson emeritus of O.P. Jindal Group and the only woman billionaire and active politician in the top 10 list. According to Forbes, her net worth is Rs 132,452.97 crore.
7. Dilip Shanghvi (net worth $15.5 billion)
Sanghvi is the founder of Sun Pharmaceuticals and has a net worth of Rs 125,184.21 crore.
8. Hinduja Brothers (net worth $15.2 billion)
Hinduja group was started by Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja in 1914. It is now controlled by four siblings, Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash, and Ashok. The brothers’ total wealth stands at Rs 122,761.29 crore.
9. Kumar Birla (net worth $15 billion)
Textiles-to-cement conglomerate Aditya Birla Group’s chairman Kumar Birla has a net worth of Rs 121,146.01 crore.
10. Bajaj Family (net worth $14.6 billion)
The family owns a network of 40 companies under the Bajaj Group and is worth Rs 117,915.45 crore. It was started in 1926 by Jamnalal Bajaj in Mumbai.
