Top 10 Richest People In India
Want to know who the richest people in India are? Here is a detailed write-up according to Forbes ranking. Read On.
They say money makes the world go round. While India has its fair share of people (over 1.3 billion at last census), the South Asian tiger also has a fairly high concentration of billionaires, 121 to be precise. In fact, India is home to the third-highest number of billionaires in the world, after China and the US respectively. So who are the richest people in India? We’ll see.
Top 10 Richest People In India
1. Mukesh Ambani
With a net worth of $47.3 billion, Ambani tops the list of the richest people in India. He is also ranked 19th on the global billionaires list compiled by Forbes for 2018. Ambani is India’s business mogul, and of course the largest shareholder in oil and gas giant Reliance Industries Limited, one of the most valuable from India.
He is also partial to a small cricket, being the owner of the Indian Premier League cricket club, the Mumbai Indians. Ambani’s initial wealth was passed down to him by his father, who was a self-made success from textiles and spices.
The richest man in India had no formal education but received life skills from a personal tutor hired for him and his brothers. He learned about the world by taking field trips, riding public transportation, and working with his father. This petrochemicals mogul racked up an additional $16.9 billion in the past 12 months. How? Well, it’s easier when half of your country’s decision-makers are on your payroll. However, no finger points here.
2. Azim Premji
Azim Premji’s net worth is estimated at $21 billion and he is widely known as India’s top tech mogul whose company, Wipro, is the third-largest subcontractor. In addition to being a tech mogul and savvy investor, Premji is a socially responsible billionaire, who created the Azim Premji Foundation in 2000 to bring primary education to rural areas of the country.
Premizi is number 58 on the global billionaire’s list and has a Wipro center in Silicon Valley. He also just won a key 10-year contract worth $ 1.6 billion with Alight Solutions of Illinois. Any skeletons in his closet? Not really. It seems that Premji is really on the front lines fighting corruption in his country, speaking frequently on the issue and even calling on the government of India.
3. Lakshmi Mittal
Lakshmi Mittal made his net worth of $18.3 billion from the commodities industry, serving as CEO and president of the world’s largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal. Taking advantage of the general recovery in the steel industry, this heavy metal mogul is buying up steelmakers around the world, including Italian steel group Ilva for $2.1 billion in June last year.
While Mittal makes the Forbes list for the richest Indians, he actually resides in the UK and is frequently listed among the richest men in Britain. Mittal owns nearly 40% of ArcelorMittal and also owns 11% of the Queen’s Park Rangers football club. Known for its luxurious flavors, Mittal imported marble from the same quarry used to build the Taj Mahal to decorate his home in the UK.
He has had his fair share of corruption charges like most self-respecting billionaires, and his relationship with politicians and decision-makers was highlighted a few years ago.
4. The Hindu family
Fourth place on the list of richest people in India is a family of four brothers, Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash, and Ashok. With a combined net worth of $18 billion, they control the multinational conglomerate of the Hinduja Group. These brothers have a range of businesses under their command, from trucks and lubricants to cable television and even banking.
They also own some of the most expensive real estates in London and live in the UK, Geneva, and Mumbai, overseeing their interests. The Hinduja brothers, Srichand and Gopichand, are credited with saving London’s Millennium Dome zone of faith but were indicted on corruption charges at the same time in 2000 for their alleged long-standing involvement in the London arms scandal. The charges were later dropped in 2002.
5. Pallonji Mistry
Pallonji Mistry has an estimated net worth of $15.7 billion, controlling the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, a Mumbai-based construction, and engineering giant. Known for his solitary tendencies, Mistry’s youngest son Cyrus is the one to always make headlines, getting into a nasty scratch with the Tata Group after being kicked out of his chair in October 2016.
The Tata Group is one of the most respected and successful companies in India with a squeaky clean reputation and a staunch denier of corruption. Therefore, Cyrus claims that the company was involved in a corruption case with AirAsia.
6. Shiv Nadar
As President of HCL Technologies, Navar is a technology entrepreneur with a net worth of $14.6 billion, presiding over a company that earns $7.5 billion in revenue and is also the fourth largest software service provider in India. Founding HCL from his garage in 1976, with a focus on microprocessors, Nadar is self-made.
He is also an example of a canny businessman who knows when it is time to diversify his assets. HCL invested about $780 million in a partnership with IBM on intellectual property. Nadar, like Premji, seems to be a pretty decent guy and recognized as a leading philanthropist in India, he created the Shiv Nadar Foundation dedicated to education.
7. The Godrej family
Another family that makes the list of the richest people in India is the Godrej family with a combined net worth of $14 billion. They run the family business, the Godrej Group, a century-old consumer goods giant that racks in $4.6 billion in revenue.
The mega-wealthy family also owns a vast parcel of land in the Mumbai suburbs, which is believed to be their greatest asset. When it comes to corruption or scandal, this family managed to keep their noses clean. They were also part of the group that wrote the open letter to the government of India expressing concern about corruption.
8. Dilip Shanghvi
With an estimated net worth of $12.6 billion, Dilip Shanghvi is one of the richest people in India. From humble beginnings, Shanghvi borrowed $200 from his father, a pharmaceutical distributor, to establish Sun Pharmaceutical Industries in 1983 with a focus on psychiatric medications.
Today, Shanghvi’s company is the world’s fourth-largest producer of specialty generics. It is also the most valuable pharmaceutical operation in India with revenues this year exceeding $3.5 billion. This crafty billionaire grew his empire through a series of acquisitions including rival Ranbaxy Laboratories for $4 billion in 2014.
While it is still the eighth-richest in India, it not long ago took the top spot, losing $14 billion in just two years after Sun Pharma shares plummeted by more than 50%. On a personal level, Shanghvi seems like a pretty decent guy, often called humble by the Indian press. He also invested in renewable energy.
9. Kumar Birla
With a net worth of $12.5 billion, Birla is the true king of commodities and is the fourth generation to lead the Aditya Birla Group, with revenue of $44.3 billion. The interests of the Aditya Birla Group are wide-ranging and encompass products such as aluminum and cement, as well as telecommunications and financial services.
Inheriting the family empire at the tender age of 28, Birla has grown accustomed to owning wealth. He has also had many years running a hands-on business, acquiring American aluminum producer Aleris this July for $2.6 billion and merging his Idea Cellular with Vodafone India to become Vodafone Idea, in August, now the largest telecommunications company in the world.
This Indian business magnate has been implicated in his fair share of scandals and corruption charges. The latest of which involved an alleged payment to Indian Prime Minister Modi in 2016. Unsurprisingly, he said he was not aware of this.
10. Gautam Adani
Gautam Adani, currently ranked 10th on the list of richest people in India, has a net worth of $11.9 billion. Adani is not in technology or the pharmaceutical industry. Instead, he controls the port of Mundra, which is India’s largest in his home state of Gujarat. In addition to dominating the ports, the Adani Group’s interests extend to real estate, commodities, and power generation.
Some of the billionaire’s most notable assets include the Australian port of Abbott Point and the Carmichael coal mine, the world’s largest.
Do some research on the Adani group’s operations and you’ll find corruption charges rife, as well as numerous allegations of paying government officials, including Indian Prime Minister Modi. Also been accused of using tax havens to protect his money, and the Carmichael acquisition was embroiled in controversy.
Read Also: Top 10 Richest Tech Billionaires In The World
The richest people in India
So there you have it, the top 10 richest people in India. From buying politicians to key decision-makers, it’s pretty clear that carrying other people in your pocket is helpful in growing an empire.
That being said, many of India’s wealthiest people are giving back to the community as well. And as for buddy capitalism? Well, the gentlemen’s club is quite a global phenomenon. It would be disappointing if India was not a paid member as well.
