Two of India’s most prominent industrialists have seen their wealth jump astronomically over the past year. While Gautam Adani & family saw their wealth increase 261% from last year to reach Rs 5.05 lakh crore, Kumar Mangalam Birla & family saw their wealth rise 230% to reach Rs 1.22 lakh crore. Adani and Birla have moved up to rank 2 and 9 respectively, according to the latest IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021.
Mukesh Ambani is the richest Indian for the 10th year in a row with a total wealth of Rs 7.18 lakh crore. Ambani is also the richest in Asia currently and is followed now by Adani at second spot. Adani earned Rs 1000 crore a day over the last year to become the second richest person in Asia for the first time.
Third-generation inheritor of Godrej, Smita V Crishna is India’s richest woman, while Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the richest self-made woman on the list. There are 13 individuals worth Rs 1 lakh crore or more in the list, up from five last year. The other notable people on the list include Vinod Shantilal & family whose wealth rose 212% to reach Rs 1.31 lakh crore and LN Mittal & family whose wealth increased 187% to reach Rs 1.74 lakh crore. These two are ranked 8 and 5 respectively in the list.
India now has 237 billionaires, up from 58 last year. Chemicals and Software produced the largest number of new entrants to the list, while Pharmaceuticals is still the number 1 and has contributed 130 entrants in the list.
There are 47 women in the 2021 edition of the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List, up from 5 ten years ago. Home to 25% of the list, Mumbai is the preferred city for India’s biggest wealth creators, followed by New Delhi and Bengaluru.
Commenting on the launch, Karan Bhagat, Founder, MD & CEO, IIFL Wealth, said, "The rising wealth creation documented in IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021 is a reflection of the robust foundation of the Indian businesses and the confidence they command from their respective stakeholders. Key facts from the list that stand out for us are the rise of women wealth creators, the reduction in average age, and the inclusion of Tier 2 cities such as Pune, Rajkot, Surat, Faridabad and Ludhiana in the top 20.”
“With wealth creation transforming from a test match to a lightning 20-20, India is witnessing the fastest wealth creation pace in its history. IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich Listers added INR 2,020 Cr each day for the past 10 years. At this rate, I expect India to add another 250 billionaires over the next five years and rival the USA in terms of number of billionaires within ten years,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India.