Ambani was the second-biggest gainer in dollar terms, with wealth rising $27.5 billion the past one year, Forbes said
Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, retained the top spot on the 2024 Forbes’ list of 100 richest Indian tycoons, in a year that saw the country’s top 100 wealthiest cross a trillion dollar in collective net worth for the first time ever.
Ambani, who announced bonus shares as Diwali gift for Reliance investors and made the news for the celebrations of his younger son Anant, was the second-biggest gainer in dollar terms, with wealth rising $27.5 billion in the past one year to $119.5 billion, the magazine said in a report on October 9.
The RIL chief’s current net worth stands at $108.3 billion, making him the 13th richest person in the world.
Significantly, the combined wealth of the top 100 on the Forbes rich list for 2024 crossed an historic milestone of a trillion dollar. The total wealth jumped 40 percent to $1.1 trillion in 2024, rising from $799 billion reported in 2023, the magazine said.
The report said that a strong stock market performance with investors piling onto the IPO and mutual funds bandwagon has resulted in the rich getting richer. The market frenzy has reached an all-time high as BSE Sensex gained 30 percent since last year, Forbes said.
“As a result, more than 80 percent of those on the list are wealthier, with 58 adding $1 billion or more to their respective net worths,” it said.
Adani group chairman Gautam Adani came second on the Forbes list with a combined family wealth of $116 billion. Adani, who along with his brother Vinod Adani added $48 billion, was the biggest gainer in the past one year in dollar terms, the report said. The rise in fortune comes in the backdrop of recovery from US-based short seller Hindenburg’s report that led to crash in the group’s market capitalisation.
Steel-to-power conglomerate O.P. Jindal Group Savitri Jindal gained a spot to move to the third position for the first time with a net worth of $43.7 billion, up $19.7 billion from last year. She remained India’s richest woman.
Tech titan Shiv Nadar was fourth with a net worth of $40.2 billion. The report said both the billionaires are among half a dozen tycoons who added more than $10 billion each to their wealth.
Dilip Shanghvi ($32.4 billion), Radhakishan Damani ($31.5 billion), Sunil Mittal ($30.7 billion), Kumar Birla ($24.8 billion), Cyrus Poonawalla ($24.5 billion) and the Bajaj Family ($23.4 billion) completed the list of top 10 richest individuals/families.
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