Macrotech Developers’ Mangal Prabhat Lodha tops real estate rich list

With a networth of ₹44,270 crore, Mangal Prabhat Lodha of Macrotech Developers is the richest real estate baron in the country, followed by Rajiv Singh of DLF with a wealth of ₹36,430 crore. There were 27 new additions to the real estate rich list of 2020, while Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru were home to 73 per cent of the real estate entrepreneurs.

This is the fourth consecutive year MP Lodha, the founder and promoter of Lodha Group, has emerged as the richest real estate baron, with his wealth rising 39 per cent during the year. Lodha Group (formerly Lodha Developers) had the highest revenue from operations among all the real estate developers in India during the pandemic hit 2020, according to GROHE Hurun India Real Estate Rich List 2020.

The average wealth in the GROHE Hurun India Real Estate Rich List 2020 rose by 27 per cent or ₹3,487 crore, while the combined wealth of entrepreneurs on the list grew by 27 per cent compared to 2019 and 65 of them increased their wealth, including the 27 new additions.

“Covid-19 was the litmus test for the Indian real estate sector. We could see a common trend with the top developers in each city consolidating their market share. This could be the reason why the real estate rich list registered a churn of 27 per cent, its biggest since inception. Marred by Covid-19, 2020 showcased the resilience of the top developers and not surprisingly the real estate business in India remains highly localised relative to similar and developed economies,” Hurun India Managing Director and Chief Researcher, Anas Rahman Junaid, said.

India’s largest real estate developer, DLF Ltd chairman Rajiv Singh, recorded a 45 per cent rise in wealth, backed by a 50 per cent increase in the company’s share price.

With a wealth of ₹26,260 crore, Chandru Raheja of K Raheja Corp moved up two spots to the third position, followed by Jitendra Virwani of Bengaluru-based Embassy Office Parks (₹23,220 crore), Hiranandani Communities’ Niranjan Hiranandani (₹20,600 crore) and Vikas Oberoi (₹15,770 crore) of Oberoi Realty.

Raja Bagmane (₹15,590 crore) of Bagmane Developers, Subhash Runwal of Runwal Developers (₹11,450 crore), Ajay Piramal of Piramal Realty (₹6,560 crore) and Atul Ruia of Phoenix Mills (₹6,340 crore) were the others in the list.

The total wealth of the top 100 Indians in the real estate sector rose 26 per cent from 2019 to ₹3.49-lakh crore. Bijay Kumar Agarwal (₹4,170 crore) of Sattva Developers was the fastest riser, reporting a 290 per cent growth.

“The India Real Estate Rich List is more than a list of the wealthy in the space, it is an indicator of the overall sentiment and direction of the industry. At GROHE, we rely on this as an important climate indicator to tune our strategy and marketing efforts. Also, it is heartening to see that wealth creation in the sector continued to be robust and that there are new entrants into the list, even in a pandemic year. The message coming out is definitely positive and uplifting,” Bobby Joseph, LIXIL, India and Subcontinent (GROHE, American Standard and INAX) said.

With a net worth of ₹280 crore, Aditya Chandak (36) of Chandak Group is the youngest, while Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi (91) of East India Hotels with a net worth of ₹2,170 crore is the oldest.

Among the States, Maharashtra topped the list with 38, followed by Delhi and Karnataka with 22 and 20 individuals, respectively. City-wise, Mumbai with 31 topped the charts, followed by New Delhi (22), Bengaluru (20), Hyderabad (5) and Pune (5).

The top 9 listed companies in the list have almost recovered the losses they registered since the lockdown, it added.

India, with a growing population, currently has one of the top five most-pronounced housing shortages in the world and will need to build 25 million additional affordable housing units by 2030.

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