India, though often categorised as a developing country, is undergoing a significant transformation in its individual wealth landscape. With the recent highlight from the 2024 Hurun India Rich List, the country is now home to 334 billionaires, which is a 29 per cent surge from the previous year. This also marks that the country is on its way to emerging as Asia's new wealth-creation engine.
Gautam Adani Tops the List
There is always a race to secure the top spot. This time, the chairman of Adani Group, Gautam Adani has clinched the top spot on the 2024 Hurun India Rich List with a whopping wealth of Rs 11.6 lakh crore, surpassing the Indian conglomerate Mukesh Ambani.
Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group (left) and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani | FPJ Photo
Ambani, who holds the second position, as per the list now boasts a wealth of Rs 1,014,700 crore.
Apart from this, other business players in the list included in the top five are Shiv Nadar & family of HCL Technologies, Cyrus S. Poonawalla & family of Serum Institute of India, and Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries.
The surge of Young Billionaires
The list also highlights the increasing influence of young entrepreneurs in the country's wealth creation apart from the regular names that everyone knows as the wealthiest person in India.
Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar, both 33 and founders of Razorpay, are the youngest billionaires on the list.
It is intriguing to note that the list includes 11 individuals born in the 1990s, highlighting a shift towards a younger generation of wealth creators. | File: Representative image
More interestingly, the 21-year-old Kaivalya Vohra, co-founder of the quick commerce startup Zepto, is the youngest entrant on the list. His co-founder, Aadit Palicha, 22, follows closely as the second youngest.
It is intriguing to note that the list includes 11 individuals born in the 1990s, highlighting a shift towards a younger generation of wealth creators.
Hyderabad Secures the Spotlight
When it comes to various states and cities across India, this time, Hyderabad has surpassed Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India to claim the third spot on the rich list following Mumbai and New Delhi. The city added 17 new billionaires.
Bollywood Star Joins the Billionaire Club
Another notable highlight of the list is that the Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has also made his way to the list securing the 58th position, with a net worth of Rs 7,300 crore.
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has also made his way to the list | File Image
The list included other prominent figures like Juhi Chawla, Hrithik Roshan, Karan Johar, and Amitabh Bachchan, collectively adding Rs 40,500 crore to the list's total wealth.
Rise in Manufacturing sector
The manufacturing sector also reported a strong contribution to wealth accumulation. The sector posted 1,016 individuals adding Rs 28 lakh crore to their collective wealth.
As per the Hurun India Rich List, the country minted a new billionaire every five days over the past year.