List of the richest people in India presently. India is a country in South Asia, bordering Pakistan, and China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. India has a land area of about 3,287,263 square km and a population of about 1,352,442,280 (1.3 billion) people. India is the 7th largest country by land area and the most populous democracy in the world.
Much of southern India is exposed to the sea; the western side mostly flushing into the Arabian Sea, and the eastern side into the Indian Ocean. India is the 5th largest economy in the world, and is largely, a private sector, production-driven economy.
Indians are enterprising people. They have built a reputation for excellence in business, and pioneering new ventures in all fields of life and commerce. Indians have successfully created empires that spread from the mother country, firmly establishing in foreign territory. But the question is: why are the wealthiest Indians? Join us to find out.
Top 10 Richest People in India
1. Mukesh Ambani
Net Worth – USD$84.4 Billion
Chairman – Reliance Industries
Mukesh Ambani sits on top of this list as the richest man in India. He is the Chairman and a Managing Director of Reliance Industries which is a major player in the oil and gas sector. His companies deal with refining, petrochemicals, and marketing. Mukesh Ambani is a forward-thinking businessman, and has diversified his business into several fields; thus gaining a firm foothold in the developing economy.
Reliance Retail, which offers foods, groceries, clothing, footwear, lifestyle, electronic goods, and farm implements, is the company’s retail sales presence. Mukesh Ambani is also the owner of Mumbai Indians, an IPL franchise. He also owns reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. which is the telecommunications arm of his company and has taken the old players in the industry unawares.
Apart from the companies which he controls, he also has a 20% stake in Saudi oil giant Aramco.
2. Gautam Shantilal Adani
Net Worth – $50.5 Billion
Founder – Gautam Adani
Gautam Adani is the chairman and founder of the Adani Group. The Adani Group is a conglomerate involved in port development and operations in India, as well as many other sectors including resources, logistics, energy, agriculture, defense, and the aerospace sectors. The company was founded in 1988.
Gautam Shantilal Adani holds a 66% stake in Adani Ports & SEZ Limited, as well as a 75% stake in Adani Transmission, another 75% stake in Adani Enterprises, and then 73% stake in Adani Power. Not surprisingly, he was ranked as the 4th most powerful person in India by India Today Magazine in 2017, Gautam is currently the fourth wealthiest person in India.
3. Shiv Nadar
Net worth – $23.5 Billion
Co-Founder – HCL
Shiv Nadar is the Chairman and Founder of HCL, which is a widely recognized IT company. He is also known for his philanthropy, through the Shiv Nadar Foundation. Nadar has committed more than $1 billion to philanthropy. In 1976 Nadar founded HCL, which has had a lasting impact in the Indian IT sector. His foresight, hard work, and philanthropy have not gone unnoticed; Nadar was honoured with the third-highest civilian award; Padma Bhushan.
4. Radhakishan Damani
Net Worth – $16.5 Billion
Founder – DMart
Radhakishan Damani, the second richest man in India, is the founder and chairman of the DMart chain of supermarkets. His retail chain is the third-largest in the country. Radhakishan Damani holds the ownership of a 52% stake in Avenue Supermarts, which is the parent company of DMart. His holding company, Bright Star Investments, holds another 16% stake.
He is famously known as Mr. White because of his always making appearances in simple white traditional wears. He is an astute thinker, a stock investor, broker, and trader.
5. Uday Kotak
Net Worth – $15.9 Billion
Founder – Kotak Mahindra Bank
Uday Kotak is the founder, Chairman, and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. popularly known as Kotak Bank, it is India’s third-biggest bank by market capitalization, with USD$20,979,912,000 (20.9 billion dollars) He started his foray into the financial services sector about 30 years ago. Born on 15 March 1959 in Mumbai, into an upper-middle-class family, Uday Kotak has put his incredible intellect to good use and has built a banking empire, bringing his family name to the forefront of the Indian industry.
6. Lakshmi Mittal
Net Worth – $14.9 Billion
Chairman – ArcelorMittal
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal is an Indian billionaire who made his money from Steel. He is the chairman & CEO of ArcelorMittal a company that deals in the production of steel. He is the owner of Karrick Limited and the Co-owner of Queens Park Rangers Football Club of England. Lakshmi Mittal has done well to diversify his portfolio; he is on the board of directors of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, and also he is a member of the independent board of directors at Goldman Sachs.
7. Kumar Mangalam Birla
Net Worth – $12.8 Billion
Chairman – Aditya Birla Group
Kumar Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla group, is an Indian industrialist and billionaire. He is also an educationist. Education is his industry, and he is the Chancellor of Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS). He is the Chairman of IIT Delhi which is an IT training firm, as well as IIM Ahmedabad which works in a similar field. His acumen has travelled wide, and he is the Chairman of the Rhodes India Scholarship Committee for Oxford University. Kumar Birla also serves on the Asia Pacific Advisory Board of London Business School and is an Honorary Fellow of the London Business School.
8. Cyrus Poonawala
Net worth – $12.7 Billion
Chairman – Poonawala Group
Cyrus Poonawalla is the founder of Poonawalla Group and only one of the few who can be called a self-made billionaire. He deviated from the family tradition of horse breeding and ventured into medicine. Today he sits at the helm of one of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturing and biotech companies—Serum Institute of India. Cyrus Poonawalla was recognized by the Padma Shri for his work and contributions to humanity through medicine. He was also awarded the Life Time Achievement award by the then Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
9. Dilip Shanghvi
Net Worth: $12.1 Billion
Dilip Shanghvi is the founder of Sun Pharma and an Indian businessman. Sun Pharma is the biggest manufacturer of specialty generic drugs. He also has investments in oil and energy ventures. Shanghvi’s net worth increased when there was a 22 percent rise in shares of Sun Pharma.
There was a decrease in the share of Sun Pharma during the lockdown by 25 percent. The pharmaceutical major had a recovery of 60 percent in the last 6 months.
10. Sunil Mittal
Net Worth – $10.5 Billion
Founder – Bharti Enterprises
Sunil Mittal is the Supremo of Bharti Enterprises which is a conglomerate with interests in diverse sectors including Telecom, Insurance, Real Estate, Education, Retail commerce, Hospitality, Agriculture, and Food production. His company Bharti Airtel is one of the pioneers in the mobile telecommunications sector and occupies the pole position in terms of market share. Airtel has made some serious expansion in recent years and is currently growing its market share in Asia and the African region.
Sunil Mittal’s foresight and daring have not gone unnoticed; he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in the year 2007. He was also elected as Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce in 2016. Presently having a net worth of 10.5 billion dollars makes him the tenth richest men in India
Azim Premji
Net Worth – $9.2 Billion
Founder – Wipro Limited
Azim Premji is an Indian billionaire businessman who made his money in the Information Technology sector. He is hailed as the Czar of the Indian IT industry but is also well known for being an investor, engineer, and philanthropist. He is the founder of Wipro Limited which is India’s foremost IT company. He guided the company for 40 years. He gave $2.2 billion dollars to his Azim Premji Foundation which focuses on providing education to poor Indian children.
Benu Gopal Bangur
Net Worth – $9.1 Billion
Chairman – Shree Cement
Gopal Bangur is the owner of Shree Cement, a company that has the largest market share in the cement industry in India. His foresight has made him diversify his portfolio, and he is also the Chairman of the Board of NBI Industrial Finance Co. Ltd. as well as the Director of Khemka Properties Pvt. Ltd. Benu Bangur holds a 65% stake in Shree Cement. Some of the products under his umbrella are Shree Ultra Ordinary Portland Cement, and Shree Ultra Jung Rodhak.
Worthy Mentions:
The following are honorable names firmly associated with wealth and industry in India, but who narrowly miss the current listing. We fully expect them to break in soon enough and want to give them the honor they fully deserve.
Read Also:
- Top 10 Richest Cricketers In India
- Top 10 Richest MPs In India
- Top 10 Richest Men In Delhi
- Top 10 Richest CMs In India
- Top 10 Richest Cities In India
Closing On The Richest People In India
There is a major difference between money and wealth. Wealth is money invested in the industry, which guarantees preservation, and multiplication. When a bright mind meets with opportunity, the inevitable result is the industry. Let us not just applaud or admire the people on this list, but let us learn from them. Let us start wherever we are to build something that can grow and potentially land us on a similar list in the future.