Mukesh Ambani reclaimed the title of the richest billionaire in India with a total wealth of Rs 8.08 trillion in 2023. With this, he surpassed Gautam Adani, who held the title last year.
According to the 360 ONE Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2023, 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.
The primary reason for the fall of Adani’s wealth is the Hindenburg report, which was published in January, it said.
It may be noted that 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,” the report stated, commenting on the decline in Adani’s 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, witnessing a decline.
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, the report said.
Cyrus Poonawalla, managing director of the Serum Institute of India, secured the third spot with a net worth of Rs 2.78 trillion, thus registering a 36% rise in 2023. 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 a net worth of Rs 2.28 trillion while Hinduja Rs 1.76 trillion, registering growth of 23% and 7% respectively.
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.
Interestingly, Mumbai is home to the highest number of individuals on the list with 328 out of a total of 1,319 billionaires. It is followed by 199 in New Delhi and 100 in Bengaluru.
Industry-wise, pharmaceuticals led the list with 133 entrepreneurs followed by 109 in chemicals & petrochemicals, and 96 in industrial products.