Four Indians have made it to the top 10 in the Forbes 2008 World’s Billionaires list released today against just one a year ago. They are non-resident Indian and ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal (4th), Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani (5th), Reliance-ADAG chairman Anil Ambani (6th) and DLF Group chairman Kushal Pal Singh (8th). Anil Ambani has emerged as the biggest wealth creator while famed American investor Warren Buffett has overtaken software czar Bill Gates and Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim to lead the list of world’s richest people released by Forbes today.

Anil Ambani is the biggest gainer, with his wealth soaring by $23.8 billion since last year’s Forbes list. He is only $1 billion ahead of elder brother Mukesh, who is the second biggest gainer with a rise of $22.9 billion in his net worth. While Mukesh is now valued at $43 billion, Anil’s net worth is valued at $42 billion.

India has retained its position as the top source of billionaires in Asia with a total of 53 people, who have a cumulative net worth of $340.9 billion on the list, consisting of 1,125 people with a combined wealth of $4.4 trillion.

The total number of Asian billionaires jumped by a third to 211 with a total wealth of $804 billion, up from $552 billion last year. India is followed by China (42), Hong Kong (26) and Japan (24) as the top source of billionaires in Asia. Gautam Adani has emerged as Asia’s richest newcomer to the list with a net worth of $9.3 billion while Anand Jain is the sixth richest newcomer with $3.4 billion. In Asia, China and India are the two top countries for newcomers with 28 and 19 billionaires respectively.

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