Mukesh Ambani tops Forbes' India rich list

 Thu, Nov 19 10:00 AM

Singapore, Nov 19 (ANI): The head of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani, is once again the wealthiest person in India. His net worth is put at 32 billion dollars, an increase of 54 percent from nearly 21 billion dollars last year, according to the latest Forbes' India Rich List.

Trailing behind him are Lakshmi Mittal with a net worth of 30 billion dollars, up 46 percent from 20.5 billion dollars, and Mukesh's estranged brother, Anil, whose net worth of 17.5 billion dollars, 40 percent, higher than before, put him in the third place.

A rebounding stock market that gained two-thirds in the past year and an economy growing at 6% have boosted the net worth of India's richest people, according to the Forbes' India.

The combined net worth of India's 100 richest people is 276 billion dollars, almost a quarter of the country's GDP.

Last year, there were only 27 billionaires on the India Rich List. This year, the number has almost doubled to 52 - two short of what India had at the peak of the stock market boom in 2007.

Naazneen Karmali, India Editor of Forbes Asia and Mumbai bureau manager for Forbes magazine, said, "Happy days are definitely back again for India's richest. This year's list shows yet again that when conditions in the financial markets and the economy are right, India has the scale and resources to produce billionaires faster than most of the countries on earth."

Indrajit Gupta, Editor of Forbes India, said, "The substantial jump in net worth is clear evidence that entrepreneurial capitalism is alive and kicking in India. What's more, the growth in wealth creation has been broad-based. Entrepreneurs from a wide variety of sectors comprise the list."

Sunil Mittal has moved down from Number 4 to Number 8 and Azim Premji has moved up to Number 4 position. The Ruia brothers with a net worth of 13.6 billion dollars have made it to number 5 this year.

The richest newcomers are two brothers from Torrent Power-Sudhir and Samir Mehta, ranked 23 at 2.02 billion dollars.

The Forbes India cover story highlights how 2009 has been a turnaround year for the rich in India. The list is an indicator of how India's billionaires have done better than their counterparts in other parts of the world.

The three richest Indians are worth 79.5 billion dollars. It takes 24 Chinese billionaires to be worth 80 billion dollars.

The top 10 richest in India are:

1. Mukesh Ambani: 32 billion dollars

2. Lakshmi Mittal: 30 billion dollars

3. Anil Ambani: 17.5 billion dollars

4. Azim Premji: 14.9 billion dollars

5. Shashi and Ravi Ruia: 13.6 billion dollars

6. KP Singh: 13.5 billion dollars

7. Savitri Jindal: 12 billion dollars

8. Sunil Mittal: 8.2 billion dollars

9. Kumar Birla: 7.8 billion dollars

10. Gautam Adani: 6.4 billion dollars (ANI)