Showbiz / The Richest: India’s Top 8 Billionaires

The Richest: India’s Top 8 Billionaires

Showbiz Oct 06, 2015

by Nicole Singh

India is home to 100 billionaires, collectively totalling a net worth of $175 billion.

According to the annual rich list of 2015, compiled by the China-based luxury publishing group Hurun Report, India has more billionaires than any other country outside of the United States and China. It was only last year that India ranked fifth in the list.

The list of billionaires is quite diverse, comprised of people who were self-made and others who became rich through family inheritance. Let's have a look at India's top eight.

8. Adi Godrej — Net Worth: $4.8 Billion

^{Photo Credit: The New York Times}

Adi Godrej is an Indian-born industrialist, a businessman, head of the Godrej family, and chairman of the Mumbai-based company Godrej Group. As of 2015, he is the 405th richest person in the world. The Godrej Group was founded in the 1890s by Ardeshir Godrej and Pirojsha Godrej. The company mainly focuses on real estate, agriculture, consumer products, appliances, furniture, industrial engineering and security.

7. Kumar Birla — Net Worth: $8.1 Billion

^{Photo Credit: Luxpresso}

Kumar Mangalam Birla is a billionaire industrialist who resides in Mumbai. He is the son of Aditya Birla and a fourth-generation corporate leader of one of India's most prominent business families. After his father, Aditya Birla's, sudden death, Kumar became the company president and chairman of The Aditya BIrla Group at the age of 28. His $40 billion company operates in over 30 different countries around the world, specializing in metals, cements, textiles and chemicals.

6. Shiv Nadar — Net Worth: $12.3 Billion

^{Photo Credit: Rediff}

Shiv Nadar ranks #66 on Forbes's rich list. He is the co-founder and chairman of the $7 billion HCL Group, which is an IT enterprise company based in Noida, India. HCL Group is the parent company to HCL Technologies and HCL Infosystems, which get the bulk of their revenue from software and technology. HCL is known for having several Fortune 500 clients, such as Boeing, Microsoft, Cisco and UBS.

5. Hinduja Brothers — Net Worth: $15.4 Billion

^{Photo Credit: The Times}

Four London-based brothers control the multinational Hinduja Group. The Hinduja Group is an international umbrella company with subsidiaries including Ashok Leyland, Hinduja Bank of Switzerland, Indusind Bank and Hinduja Global Solutions. The group employs 70,000 people worldwide and has offices in every major Indian city and various cities around the world. In 2014, Srichand and Gopinchand Hinduja were named the richest men in Britain.

4. Pallonji Mistry — Net Worth: $15.6 Billion

^{Photo Credit: Forbes}

The Irish-Indian Pallonji Mistry, also known as the construction tycoon, is the chairman of Shapoorji Pallonji Group. Shapoorji Pallonji Group is a conglomerate that specializes in the construction, real estate, textiles and biotech businesses. Mistry's substantial income comes from his 18.4% investment stake in the holding company Tata Sons.

3. Azim Premji — Net Worth: $17.1 Billion

^{Photo Credit: Forbes}

Azim Premji is ranked #48 on Forbes' rich list and #61 on Forbes' list of the most powerful people. He is an Indian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist who is the chairman of Wipro Limited. The company originally focused on vegetable production, then turned its focus over to global information technology, outsourcing and computer manufacturing, and now employs over 100,000 individuals. Time Magazine has listed Azim twice on its list of the 100 most influential people.

2. Dilip Shangvhi — Net Worth: $19.7 Billion

^{Photo Credit: Forbes India}

Dilip Shanghvi is a self-made billionaire ranked #2 on Forbes's list of India's 100 richest people. He is the founder and managing director of India's most valuable and largest drug manufacturing company, Sun Pharmaceuticals. After graduating from the University of Kolkata with a degree in commerce, Dilip began helping his father in the wholesale generic drug business in Kolkata, eventually moving on to manufacturing his own pharmaceuticals.

1. Mukesh Ambani — Net Worth: $20 Billion

^{Photo Credit: Born Rich}

Our #1 spot on our list of India's top eight billionaires goes to Mukesh Ambani, whose net worth totals $20 billion. He is not only known for being the wealthiest person in India, but he is also famous for owning the most expensive house in the world. The Antilia is a 27-storey, 400,000-sqaare-foot skyscraper situated on Altamount Road in Mumbai. The home is valued at almost $2 billion. Named as Forbes's #36 most powerful person, Mukesh is a business mogul and multi-billionaire who is the chairman, managing director and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries Limited.

^{Main Image Photo Credit: WSJ}

Nicole Singh

Author

Nicole is a bilingual professional with a journalism background who adores everything to do with fashion, culture, and Bollywood. She always had a passion for writing since a young age and decided to follow that dream. She has a sense of working in the field through news publications writt...