India’s Billionaires Hit Historic Trillion Milestone Amid Market Boom

A Record-Breaking Year as Wealth Surges by 40% in 12 Months

India’s Wealthiest Reach New Heights

For the first time, India’s 100 richest tycoons have collectively amassed $1.1 trillion, more than double their combined wealth in 2019.

Over the past year alone, they added $316 billion, marking a 40% surge driven by strong investor confidence and a booming stock market.

The BSE Sensex jumped 30%, fueled by optimism following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third-term victory in June, even with a coalition government.

Top Gainers and Billionaire Surge

More than 80% of India’s richest saw their fortunes rise, with 58 individuals gaining at least $1 billion each.

Six billionaires witnessed increases of $10 billion or more, with the top five alone adding nearly $120 billion to their wealth.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, retained his No. 1 spot, with his fortune soaring by $27.5 billion to $119.5 billion.
Gautam Adani, India’s biggest dollar gainer, recovered from last year’s short-selling crisis and added $48 billion, boosting his family’s net worth to $116 billion, keeping him at No. 2.
Savitri Jindal, India’s richest woman and matriarch of O.P. Jindal Group, climbed to No. 3, thanks to the group’s expansion into electric vehicles.

New Entrants and Rising Sectors

The number of women billionaires on the list grew to nine, with the debut of Mahima Datla, who controls vaccine maker Biological E. She joins three other newcomers, including:

B. Partha Saradhi Reddy, founder of Hetero Labs, a pharmaceutical giant.
Harish Ahuja, owner of Shahi Exports, a key supplier to brands like H&M and Calvin Klein.
Surender Saluja, whose company Premier Energies surged in value after a September IPO in the solar sector.

Sectoral Booms: Pharma & Real Estate

India’s pharmaceutical sector continues to thrive globally, with Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries climbing to No. 5 with $32.4 billion, fueled by rising demand for skin treatments.
Real estate tycoons saw a collective gain of $16 billion, thanks to soaring demand for housing. Irfan Razack and his family, who run Prestige Estates, are among those benefiting from India’s property boom.

Legacy, New Generations & Cutoffs

The Godrej family formally split its holdings, with cousins Adi & Nadir Godrej on one side and Jamshyd & Smita Crishna Godrej on the other.
Six nonagenarians remain on the list, having largely handed control to the next generation. The youngest billionaire is Nikhil Kamath, 38, co-founder of Zerodha, India’s top discount brokerage.
The cutoff to make the list jumped to $3.3 billion (from $2.3 billion last year), pushing 11 previous billionaires off the rankings.

Conclusion

India’s 100 richest continue to dominate wealth creation, driven by a booming stock market, strong economic policies, and growth across key industries.

With fortunes rapidly expanding and new billionaires emerging, the country’s financial elite are playing a crucial role in India’s ascent as a global economic powerhouse.