April has been remarkable for India’s financial system, showcasing resilience amidst global turmoil. Despite a brief celebratory moment when the Sensex soared past the 75,000 mark, the landscape lacked challenges. Market corrections soon followed, triggered by geopolitical tensions and inflationary pressures. However, the overarching sentiment remains bullish, with experts optimistic about the Sensex’s growth trajectory.
Historical data supports the strategy of “buying the dip” during such market corrections, particularly when these are driven by sentiment or external geopolitical events. A significant boost to this positive market momentum is the increase in domestic investments, both in direct equity and mutual funds. With India’s GDP projected to grow by 7% or more in FY25, and considering the economic slowdown in China coupled with high inflation rates in the U.S., India is positioned as a promising landscape for a strong spurt of economic expansion.
This favourable macroeconomic environment suggests that the slight stagnation in billionaire wealth accumulation in April is but a temporary pause. With the earnings season approaching, there is a palpable anticipation of significant wealth increments for India’s richest.
The Indian Billionaires
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL) announced record annual earnings in April, driven by strong performances in its core oil and petrochemicals sectors, as well as sustained growth in its retail and telecom divisions. The company’s quarterly net profit for the January-March period of FY 2023-24 surged 10% sequentially to ₹18,951 crore, up from ₹17,265 crore in the previous quarter. Reliance also became the first Indian company to surpass ₹1 lakh crore in pre-tax profits and ₹10 lakh crore in annual turnover — although none of those laurels really added to Ambani’s personal fortune.
Gautam Adani didn’t see a significant addition to his wealth through the month of April. However, his net worth is likely to be positively impacted by the Adani Group’s release of ₹26,500 crore worth of pledged shares in the financial year 2024, a move applauded by analysts for improving the company’s cash flow and alleviating market concerns regarding share pledging. This development comes as most Adani Group companies are in the midst of reporting their Q4 earnings.
Shapoor Mistry has nearly made the third position on the list his own in recent months, ticking along behind the frontrunners. Shiv Nadar, founder and chairman of HCL Tech, had narrowed the wealth gap to Mistry in early April, but then his net worth dropped by a few billion dollars.
Savitri Jindal, the wealthiest woman in India and former chairperson of the OP Jindal Group, has seen her fortunes improve over the course of April, coming ever so close to Shiv Nadar’s spot. Jindal has also climbed to the 48th place among the richest billionaires of the world.
Further down the list, former Wipro chairman Azim Premji, Sun Pharma MD Dilip Shanghvi, DMart founder Radhakishan Damani, and Serum Institute of India founder Cyrus Poonawalla all experienced a drop in their personal wealth. Sunil Mittal, founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, has made a comeback to the top 10 richest Indian billionaires list, replacing steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.
Here is the ranking of the 10 richest persons in India in 2024 as per Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index:
1. Mukesh Ambani
Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited, holds the title of India’s richest person. Ambani also stands eleventh on the global billionaire list with a net worth of $113 billion (₹9.4 lakh crore).
Under his leadership, RIL has grown into one of India’s leading firms with a global footprint. In recognition of his extraordinary accomplishments, he received the prestigious Padma Vibhushan award in 2016.
Ambani’s conglomerate spans a broad spectrum, including petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas exploration, and telecommunications. Since taking the reins in 2004 following his father Dhirubhai Ambani’s passing, he has propelled RIL to new heights. He orchestrated the launch of Reliance Jio, a telecom venture that transformed the Indian telecom landscape with its affordable data plans and high-speed internet services.
In addition to his business prowess, Ambani is renowned for his philanthropic activities. His Reliance Foundation focuses on enhancing healthcare, education, and rural development across India.
See Also: Have Income Tax Rates Changed From April 1? Govt Puts Out Clarification
2. Gautam Adani
Adani, who slipped out of the elite club of the world's top 10 richest people in 2023, is now 14th on the global list, consolidating his place as the second richest man in India.
Adani has a net worth of $99.1 billion (₹8.27 lakh crore) after losing a massive $50.3 billion over the first few months of 2023. Adani's conglomerate has widespread interest across sectors like power generation and transmission, real estate, commodities and infrastructure.
Several Adani Group companies are publicly listed, including Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar, Adani Transmission, Adani Ports & SEZ, Ambuja Cements and ACC. Several of these stocks have turned multi-baggers and fetched returns in multiples for the investors.
Adani continues to tread the recovery path after a majority of this wealth was eroded in the aftermath of prominent U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research publishing a report that alleged Adani Group engages in widespread fraud and financial malpractices. However, the conglomerates’ listed entities have held up well in the market after fresh allegations suggested that business partners of the family used ‘opaque’ funds to invest in stocks.
At the end of 2022, Adani held the title of India’s wealthiest individual. Adani’s conglomerate reached its pinnacle, securing its position as the second-largest Indian conglomerate, surpassed only by Reliance Industries.
3. Shapoor Mistry
Shapoor Mistry. Photo: Courtesy of Shapoorji Pallonji Group
The founder of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, with a net worth of $37.6 billion (roughly ₹3.13 lakh crore). The third wealthiest person in India, Mistry also holds the 40th position among the world’s richest individuals and receives recognition for his philanthropic endeavours alongside his business ventures.
4. Shiv Nadar
Shiv Nadar. Photo: Courtesy of Shiv Nadar Foundation
Shiv Nadar, HCL Technologies co-founder, holds the third position among India’s richest billionaires, with an estimated wealth of $32.7 billion (roughly ₹2.72 lakh crore). HCL is a prominent provider of software services in India, boasting a substantial revenue of $13.3 billion (₹1.10 lakh crore) in Q4 FY24. Under Nadar’s guidance, HCL has emerged as one of the country’s largest IT services companies, operating in over 45 countries.
Nadar also ranks 47th on the global billionaire’s list. Nadar’s contributions to the IT industry and philanthropic endeavours have earned him numerous awards and accolades.
5. Savitri Jindal
Savitri Jindal, India’s wealthiest female, is the only businesswoman in the country’s top 10 richest people. As the Jindal Group’s chairperson, she holds a net worth of $31.9 billion (roughly ₹2.66 lakh crore).
The conglomerate has not only become one of India’s major steel producers under her leadership but also successfully expanded operations. These include power generation, infrastructure, cement, and textiles.
6. Azim Premji
Azim Premji. Photo: Courtesy of World Economic Forum/Flickr
Former chairman of Wipro Limited and a philanthropist, Azim Premji has a net worth of $26 billion (₹2.17 lakh crore). In 2019, Premji dropped from the 2nd position in the Forbes India Rich list to the 17th position after he gave away a huge amount to charity. Under his leadership, Wipro expanded from the cooking oil industry to the IT industry, and today it is a leading software services company with a presence in over 50 countries.
7. Dilip Shanghvi
Dilip Shanghvi. Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia
Dilip Shanghvi is an Indian billionaire businessman and the founder of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, one of India’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Shanghvi's net worth stands at $24.7 billion (roughly ₹2.06 lakh crore), making him the seventh richest person in the country. Shanghvi's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is among the nation's leaders in pharmaceutical supplies.
8. Radhakishan Damani
Avenue Supermarts Limited's founder Radhakishan Damani's $21.1 billion (roughly ₹1.76 lakh crore) worth places him eighth on this list. Damani became the retail king of India after his supermarket chain completed ₹1,870 crore ($229 million) IPO in March 2017.
The investor holds stakes in companies like VST Industries, India Cements, TV Today Network and Health and Glow. The transaction, worth around ₹700-750 crore, involved acquiring the business from the family offices of Rajan Raheja and Hemendra Kothari.
9. Cyrus Poonawalla
Cyrus Poonawalla, the chairperson of Serum Institute of India (SII), boasts a $21 billion (₹1.75 lakh crore) net worth. Poonawaala played a key role in producing the Covishield vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic. This earned him the Padma Bhushan in 2022 for his contributions to global vaccination efforts.
His son, Adar Poonawalla, leads as the CEO of SII and Chairman of Poonawalla Fincorp. The Cyrus Poonawalla Group spans various sectors, including Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Finance, and more. Recently, Poonawalla was hospitalized following a heart attack but is subsequently, in stable condition post-angioplasty.
10. Sunil Mittal
Sunil Mittal, the telecom tycoon and founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, boasts a net worth of ₹20.9 billion (₹1.74 lakh crore). Bharti Enterprises holds diversified interests in sectors including real estate, education, malls, telecom, insurance, hospitality, agriculture, and food.
The majority of Mittal’s fortune comes from his 28% stake in Bharti Airtel, which he holds through closely-held Bharti Enterprises and other holding companies. As of 2022, Airtel ranks among India's largest mobile phone operators, serving over 474 million customers. In addition to Bharti Airtel, the promoter also holds a 70% stake in the newly listed mobile services provider Bharti Hexacom.
Read Next: From IIT Madras To Microsoft’s Elite: How Pavan Davuluri Rose To Lead Windows And Surface
Don't miss a beat on the share market. Get real-time updates on top stock movers and trading ideas on Benzinga India Telegram channel.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.