Reliance Industries’ Chairman Mukesh Ambani has retained his position as the richest Indian for the 11th consecutive year with Wipro Chairman Azim Premji at the second spot, while ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal moved a place ahead to the third slot, according to a ranking by Forbes magazine.
Ambani with a net worth of $47.3 billion is also the year’s biggest gainer, adding $ 9.3 billion to his wealth amid the continuing success of his Reliance Jio broadband telco service. Premji’s a net worth is $21 billion while Mittal’s stood at $18.3 billion.
ALSO READ: Chanda Kochhar quits as CEO of ICICI Bank, Sandeep Bakhshi to…
As per the ‘Forbes India Rich List 2018’, Mittal is followed by the Hinduja brothers at with a net worth of $ 18 billion and Pallonji Mistry with $ 15.7 billion.
Other business magnates making the top 10 list are Shiv Nadar ($14.6 billion), Godrej family ($14 billion), Dilip Shanghvi ($12.6 billion), Kumar Birla ($12.5 billion) and Gautam Adani ($11.9 billion).
“In a challenging year, which saw the rupee taking a tumble, the country’s 100 richest collectively managed to hold their own. Moreover, new billionaires continue to be minted, which indicates that India’s entrepreneurial energy is upbeat as ever,” said Naazneen Karmali, India Editor of Forbes Asia.
ALSO READ: Government brings relief to citizens; cuts petrol, diesel price by Rs 2.5
Biotechnology pioneer Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has emerged as the biggest percentage gainer of the year. One of only four women on the list, her net worth rose 66.7 per cent to $3.6 billion. In terms of net worth, she stood at 39th spot.
“Despite a rout in the rupee that practically wiped out the Indian stock market’s 14 per cent rise from a year ago, tycoons on the 2018 Forbes India Rich List saw a modest gain in their combined wealth to $492 billion,” according to Forbes India.
“The growth in the overall wealth of India’s richest in a challenging year is one indicator of the country’s economic advancement. New faces on the list – five of them – are also an encouraging sign of the rise of domestic mega-firms, many with a presence in global markets,” Forbes India Editor Brian Carvalho said.
According to the statement, this list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and India’s regulatory agencies.
“Public fortunes were calculated based on stock prices and exchange rates as of September 21. Private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded,” it said.