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The stock market boom and a slight strengthening of the rupee have helped drive up the number of dollar billionaires in the country to record highs, according to the Hurun India Rich List for 2014.
The number has risen to 109, up from 63 last year and 59 the year before, according to the listings made available on Tuesday.
AMBANI TOPS
Mukesh Ambani held on to his position as the richest man in India with a fortune of ₹1.65 lakh crore, up 37 per cent from last year.
Ambani tops the list of 230 individuals for the third year running. Reliance last year sought approval for a ₹78,000-crore expansion to its existing refinery business. He also bought out one of the largest media houses, Network 18, for ₹4,200 crore.
Dilip Shangvi of Sun Pharmaceuticals shot into the second position, overtaking LN Mittal for the first time, after seeing his wealth grow 43 per cent to ₹1.29 lakh crore.
This year Sun Pharmaceuticals acquired Japanese-owned Ranbaxy, making Sun the largest drug maker in India and the fifth largest in the world. The deal values Ranbaxy at 2.2 times its revenue of ₹10,800 crore.
ADANI SURPRISES
In other surprises, Gautam Adani shot into the top 10, with a net worth of ₹44,020 crore, up 152 per cent from last year.
Stock prices of his flagship companies Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports were up 180 per cent and 90 per cent respectively. He made his first million when he was just 20 years old.
LN Mittal of ArcelorMittal dropped down one place to third with a fortune down four per cent at ₹97,000 crore.
Azim Hashim Premji saw his 57 per cent of Wipro grow 11 per cent, taking him to the fourth place, and making him the richest South Indian with a fortune of ₹86,000 crore.
Shiv Nadar, registered a 40 per cent increase in wealth on the back of a 57 per cent increase in stock price of his company HCL Technologies.
BIRLA DROPS
SP Hinduja is the sixth richest person on the list with a networth of ₹72,000 crore. The Hinduja family controls a highly diversified empire.
Pallonji Mistry, with a personal fortune of ₹86,000 crore, is the seventh richest Indian and also the richest Parsi. Mistry is the largest individual shareholder in Tata Sons, where his son Cyrus is currently Chairman.
Kumar Mangalam Birla of Aditya Birla is the eighth richest man in India, two places down from last year. His net worth stands at ₹61,620 crore, a 24 per cent increase from last year.
Telecom mogul Sunil Mittal is the ninth richest on the list, with an estimated networth of ₹51,320 crore (up one rank from last year).
RECORD HIGHS
“The stock market boom has driven the number of India’s entrepreneurs to record highs,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher.
The private sectors of both India and China have strong manufacturing bases. The Chinese seem to have made most money from real estate, while India has done well in pharma and healthcare.
Anas Rahman Junaid, Head, Hurun Report India, said the new Government at the Centre has sparked a boom in the stock markets.
“We have expanded the Hurun India Rich List from 141 individuals to 230, while retaining last year’s cut-off of ₹1,800 crore.”
“If last year’s rich list demonstrated the resilience of Indian corporates in a sluggish market, this year’s exemplifies corporate India’s potential to lead the global market,” he added.
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