Wipro's Azim Premji is third richest person

Wipro's Azim Premji is third richest person
H S RAO

LONDON, MARCH 19: Azim Premji, founder of software company Wipro, has emerged as the third richest person in the world this year, next only to Microsoft chief Bill Gates and Robson Walton and family, both of the United States.

Premji, who has seen his wealth soar to 35 billion pounds from 1.75 billion last year, nudged the Sultan of Brunei from his third position last year to sixth this year, according to the Sunday Times' Rich List 2000 published on Sunday.

No fewer than 27 of the world's 50 richest people are American, led by Gates with a staggering 53.12 billion pounds. His fortune was worth 36.25 billion pounds last year.

Walton and family, who are in retailing business in the US, come a close second with a worth of 52.87 billion pounds, up from last year's 34.37 billion pounds.

Non-Resident Indian industrialists Lakshmi Mittal, founder of Ispat International, the world's sixth largest steel group, and the Hinduja brothers, Srichand and Gopichand, are among the top ten richest in Britain, the list said.

Fourty-nine-year old Mittal, who diversified into B4U, a television channel targeted at Britain's Asian community, has built Ispat International into a global venture with plants in Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Germany, Ireland and the United States.

He also has private steel interests in Kazakhstan and the Indonesian plant that launched his career. With a total worth of 2.2 billion pounds, he is fourth among the ten richest in Britain and 46th in Europe. He has registered a 1,000-million-pound growth in a year, according to Sunday Times.

The Hinduja brothers, who are now apparently working with pop superstar Michael Jackson to launch two spiritual theme parks in Britain and the US, are the eighth richest in Britain with a total worth of 1.95 billion pounds. The group registered a 650-million-pound growth during the last one year.

The paper said the Hindujas were building a power station in India putting themselves at the forefront of India's high-tech revolution.

Lord Swraj Paul, the third wealthiest Asian in Britain, is the 79th richest person in the country as per the list. A Labour peer and chairman of the Caparo Group, Lord Paul is worth 330 million pounds, five million pounds more than last year, the paper said.