Indian’s richest individual Mukesh Ambani, CMD of Reliance Industries, figures in the top 10 richest individuals globally as per the ‘Loong Palace Hurun Global Rich List 2019. Coming in at position eight globally, he is the first Indian to achieve this position as also the only Asian in this year’s list.
His net worth is estimated at $54 billion (₹3,83,700 crore). Mr. Ambani’s net worth increased 20% in a year. As per the report, Mukesh Ambani added $30 billion in the last seven years, and his brother Anil Ambani lost $5 billion (from $7 billion seven years back) and came in at $1.9 billion this year.
S.P. Hinduja whose ranking is 40 globally and number two in India, has estimated wealth of $21 billion (₹1,50,500 crore), as per the list. Azim Premji, at position 57 globally and third-richest in India, is followed by Cyrus Poonawalla and Laxmi Mittal who are globally ranked 100 and 112 respectively. Globally ranked 129 Uday Kotak is India’s sixth-richest, followed by Gautam Adani seventh richest in India while his ranking globally is 157. Sun Pharma’s Dilip Shanghvi is eighth-richest in India and is followed by Cyrus and Shapoor Mistry.
Jeff Bezos of Amazon, with net worth of $147 billion (₹10,44,000 crore) retained the top slot for the second year running. In one year, he added $24 billion (₹171,500 crore) to his fortune. For the first time, Cyrus Poonawalla of Serum Institute has broken into the global top 100 with a net worth of $13 billion (₹89,800 crore).
A total of 2,470 individuals figured in the list with total wealth of $49.5 trillion — or 12% of global GDP. Of them, 658 are from China, 584 from the U.S. and 117 are from Germany. A record 430 billionaires dropped off the list in 2019, of whom 52 are from India. “Since 2012, this is the first time that India has slipped to fifth rank in the List. An underperforming rupee and lacklustre stock market resulted in India losing one third of the list,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, MD & chief researcher, Hurun Report India.
“Hope to see a revival after the elections, which could bring in a much needed clarity on the continuity of government’s policies,” he added.
As per the report Beijing emerged as the hub of the rich and famous with 103 names hailing from the city as compared to 92 from New York.
While Greater China has 658 billionaires, down by 161, India has only 104, down by 28. Among India’s billionaires 42 are residents of Mumbai while 25 are from Delhi. Bengaluru has 9.
