Gautam Adani has been named India’s richest man in the 2024 Hurun India Rich List. Adani’s family now holds total assets worth Rs 11.6 lakh crore, a significant leap from his fourth-place position in 2020. This year, he has reclaimed the top spot after recovering from the fallout of the Hindenburg report, which had previously put his businesses in turmoil. According to Hurun, despite the challenges, Adani’s wealth soared as his businesses rebounded strongly, much like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
Adani’s wealth grew by 95% over the past year, reaching Rs 11,61,800 crore. His companies, particularly Adani Ports, saw an impressive 98% increase in share price due to the acquisition of new ports and container terminals. Adani Energy, Adani Gas, Adani Transmission, and Adani Power also experienced an average share price growth of 76%. This recovery was bolstered by MSCI lifting restrictions on Adani Group securities in its August 2024 review.
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Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, is ranked second with a wealth of Rs 10.14 lakh crore. The number of billionaires in India has reached a record high of 334. Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Principal Investigator at Hurun India, highlighted that India is emerging as Asia’s wealth creation hub, with a 29% increase in the number of billionaires, while the number of Chinese billionaires has decreased by 25%.
Following Adani and Ambani, HCL Technologies founder Shiv Nadar is the third richest Indian, with assets worth Rs 3.14 lakh crore. Cyrus S. Poonawalla, head of the Serum Institute of India, and Sun Pharma chief Dilip Shanghvi hold the fourth and fifth spots, respectively, with Rs 2.89 lakh crore and Rs 2.39 lakh crore.
The number of ultra-rich individuals in India has surged, with 1,539 people now having a net worth of Rs 1,000 crore or more. This represents a 150% increase over the past seven years, and the list saw a notable addition of 220 ultra-rich individuals this year.
