Mukesh Ambani richest Indian in Forbes list

Telecom czar Sunil Mittal and realtor K P Singh are ranked fourth and fifth with net worth of USD 7.9 billion and USD 7.8 billion, respectively.

The magazine said that the combined net worth of India’s 40 richest has declined by 60 per cent due to weak stock markets amid depreciating rupee against the greenback.

Their total wealth is now USD 139 billion, down from USD 351 billion just a year ago, according to Forbes India Rich List.

“These are painful times for India’s tycoons. The country’s once soaring stock market fell 48 per cent the past year, the rupee depreciated 24 per cent against the dollar, and GDP growth is expected to slow by at least a percentage point, in part owing to double-digit inflation,” Forbes Asia said in a statement.

While all 40 tycoons listed last year were billionaires, only 27 have 10-figure net worths now. A net worth of 760 million dollar was needed to make to the list this year, 840 million dollar less than last year.

The Ruia brothers were ranked at sixth position with a net worth of USD 7.6 billion, followed by Wipro Chairman Aziz Premji, worth USD 7 billion.

The magazine states that the combined net worth of brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh increased by USD 550 million, thereby grabbing 13th place on the list.

Their combined net worth stood at USD 2.8 billion after they sold their stake in Ranbaxy Laboratories to Daiichi Sankyo.

The list says the major loser was property tycoon Ramesh Chandra, whose net worth dropped by 91 per cent to USD 1 billion.

Among the new entrants in the list are retailer Micky Jagtiani at 16th position with a net worth of USD 2 billion, followed by Divi’s Laboratories’ founder Murali Divi at 36th place with a net worth of USD 870 million. Also Akruti City’s Hemant Shah stood at 37th place with a wealth of USD 830 million.

* Following is the list of India’s top 40 richest people as compiled by US-based business magazine Forbes.

Rank – Name – Net Worth ($mil)

1. Mukesh Ambani: 20,800

2. Lakshmi Mittal: 20,500

3. Anil Ambani: 12,500

4. Sunil Mittal: 7,900

5. Kushal Pal Singh: 7,800

6. Shashi and Ravi Ruia: 7,600

7. Azim Premji: 7,000

8. Kumar Birla: 5,000

9. Adi Godrej: 4,000

10. Gautam Adani: 3,900

11. Dilip Shanghvi: 3,100

12. Savitri Jindal: 2,900

13. Malvinder and Shivinder Singh: 2,800

14. Anil Agarwal: 2,400

15. Shiv Nadar: 2,200

16. Micky Jagtiani: 2,000

17. Indu Jain: 1,800

18. Cyrus Poonawalla: 1,600

19. Uday Kotak: 1,550

20. Chandru Raheja: 1,500

21. G M Rao: 1,470

22. Vivek Burman: 1,300

23. Anurag Dikshit: 1,250

24. Kalanithi Maran: 1,200

25. Venugopal Dhoot: 1,100

26. Yusuf Hamied: 1,060

27. Ramesh Chandra: 1,000

28. Subhash Chandra: 970

29. N R Narayana Murthy: 965

30. Rajan Raheja: 950

31. Brijmohan Lall Munjal: 940

32. Baba Kalyani: 935

33. Tulsi Tanti: 930

34. Jaiprakash Gaur: 890

35. Niranjan Hiranandani: 885

36. Murali Divi: 870

37. Hemant Shah: 830

38. Gracias Saldanha: 825

39. Anand Jain: 810

40. Rahul Bajaj: 760