Mukesh Ambani reclaimed the title of the richest billionaire in India with a total wealth of Rs 8.08 trillion in 2023.
According to the 360 ONE Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2023, Reliance Industries chairman and managing director surpassed Gautam Adani who held the title last year.
The report said Ambani’s wealth increased by 2% over the year while Adani’s fortune plummeted by 57% to Rs 4.74 trillion since the last release of the list.
It attributed the primary reason for the fall of Adani’s wealth to the Hindenburg report published in January.
In 2022, Adani was ahead of Ambani by a wealth gap of Rs 3 trillion. This year, Ambani has overtaken him by a margin of Rs 3.3 trillion.
“This represents the most substantial annual wealth decline ever recorded for an individual since the inception of the Hurun India Rich List,” report stated commenting on the decline in Adani’s wealth.
8 out of top 10 richest billionaires experienced increase in wealth
The report stated that eight out of the top 10 richest billionaires on the list experienced an increase in their wealth in 2023 with only two – Adani and Radhakishan Damani – witnessed a decline.
However, Adani remains the top gainer among the richest Indians over the last five years, despite the significant drop in his wealth in 2023. His wealth has quintupled from Rs 94,500 crore in 2019, report stated.
Cyrus Poonawalla, managing director of the Serum Institute of India, secured the third spot with a net worth of Rs 2.78 trillion.
He registered a 36% rise in 2023 while in absolute terms, Poonawalla gained the most, adding Rs 73,100 crore to his wealth.
Shiv Nadar, founder and chairman emeritus of HCL Technologies, and Gopichand Hinduja of the Hinduja Group retained the fourth and fifth position respectively. Nadar possessed net worth of Rs 2.28 trillion while Hinduja Rs 1.76 trillion, registering growth of 23% and 7% respectively.
Mumbai, with 328 out of a total of 1,319 billionaires, is home to the highest number of individuals on the list followed by 199 in New Delhi and 100 in Bengaluru.
Pharmaceuticals led the list with 133 entrepreneurs followed by 109 in Chemicals & Petrochemicals and 96 in Industrial Products.
Kaivalya Vohra, founder of the e-commerce platform Zepto continued as the youngest individual on the list for this year as well. Last year, he was in the list with a net worth of Rs 1,000 crore.
