India’s Billionaires Got Richer During Pandemic: Forbes 2021 List Of Richest Indians

New Delhi: Forbes has released its list of India’s 100 richest for 2021. Billionaires in India on the list saw an increase of 50 per cent in their wealth during the pandemic year. The cumulative wealth of members on the list climbed to a record $775 billion, after adding $257 billion in the last 12 months.

Much of the reason is the record high stock market in India in the last few months. More than 80 per cent of the listees saw their fortunes increase, with 61 adding $1 billion or more, Forbes mentioned.

Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries continues to leads the chart since 2008 with a net worth of $92.7 billion now.

“Reliance Industries Ltd plans to transform its energy business with an over-arching strategy to offer decarbonisation solutions globally at a competitive price in a market potentially worth $5 trillion by 2030,” Morgan Stanley said.

Gautam Adani, the founder of Adani Group, is in second place, with a net worth of $74.8 billion. Shiv Nadar, founder of HCL Technologies comes next. Nadar witnessed a $10.6 billion boost in his net worth from India’s IT sector. His net worth was estimated at $31 billion.

Radhakishan Damani, founder of DMart retained the fourth spot on the list with his net worth nearly doubling to $29.4 billion from $15.4 billion. Cyrus Poonawalla, India’s vaccine king moved into the top five with a net worth of $19 billion in 2021.

The top 10 richest in India are:

1) Mukesh Ambani; US$92.7 billion

2) Gautam Adani; $74.8 billion

3) Shiv Nadar; $31 billion

4) Radhakishan Damani; $29.4 billion

5) Cyrus Poonawalla; $19 billion

6) Lakshmi Mittal; $18.8 billion

7) Savitri Jindal; $18 billion

8) Uday Kotak; $16.5 billion

9) Pallonji Mistry; $16.4 billion

10) Kumar Birla; $15.8 billion

Naazneen Karmali, Asia wealth editor and India editor of Forbes Asia, was quoted as saying: “This year’s list reflects India’s resilience and can-do spirit even as Covid-19 extracted a heavy toll on both lives and livelihoods. Hopes of a V-shaped recovery fueled a stock market rally that propelled the fortunes of India’s wealthiest to new heights. With the minimum net worth to make the ranks approaching $2 billion, the top 100 club is getting more exclusive.”