India’s billionaire population is rapidly rising and nearing the 200 mark. The number of billionaires in India reached 191 in 2024, with the addition of 26 more individuals and a total combined wealth of $950 billion, putting the country in the third place after the US and China, according to a wealth report released today.
The rally in the stock markets over the last couple of years also pushed up the numbers of millionaires and the population of high net-worth individuals is seen rising 9.4 per cent to nearly 94,000 by 2028, according to Knight Frank’s Global Wealth report. The HNWI population – those with assets of over $10 million - currently is at 85,698, accounting for 3.7 per cent of the global HNWI segment.
At 6 per cent, the number of HNWIs in India rose faster than the global average of 4.4 per cent, the report said.
In 2024, the investment split between stocks, property and cash or liquid instruments among the wealthy was more or less even with stocks having a slight edge. This was due to the stocks rally that was seen over the past couple of years.
“Appetite for risk assets like equities has expanded rapidly in emerging markets like India,” the report noted, compared to more conservative attitudes prevailing in Europe and Japan.
High-end cars
Among the luxury assets that the wealthy were interested in acquiring, high-end cars figured high on their list, followed by high-end real estate, with about 10 per cent coveting private jets.
The current turmoil in the global stocks markets, flowing from threat of tariff wars will only make investors gravitate to real estate, Knight Frank India’s head Shishir Baijal said.
He pointed out that the India growth story was still on and despite the temporary blips in the markets, the long-term growth and opportunities for investment had not diminished.
The report observed that the first two months of 2025 have been volatile and investor allocations are moving at a record pace in reaction to the risk of bubbles forming in financial markets.
“That said, although tariffs risk denting economic expansion and complicating the inflation narrative, most economists predict another year of relatively healthy global GDP growth,” it said.