Mittal richest Indian, Mukesh 2nd: Forbes
Lakshmi N Mittal reigns as the richest Indian for the fourth year in a row with a wealth of $51 billion although his crown is under threat from Mukesh Ambani whose net worth soared to $49 billion, according to Forbes’ India’s 40 Richest list for 2007.
Mukesh’s position, too, is under threat from his younger brother Anil who is closing on his heels with a wealth of $45 billion at the third spot, US-based Forbes magazine said.
Kushal Pal Singh of DLF has replaced Wipro’s Azim Premji from the fourth spot in the list.
“The four richest Indians are worth an astonishing $180 billion,” Forbes said attributing the surge in wealth to the booming stock market.
The net worth of Mukesh Ambani has jumped from $30.5 billion to $49 billion - making him the year’s biggest gainer. Anil’s net worth increased to $45 billion from $30.2 billion.
Kushal Pal Singh has a net worth of $35 billion, and after the listing of his flagship DLF, he is now the world’s richest real estate developer, Forbes said.
The minimum wealth required to make it to the rich-list was $1.6 billion as against $790 million last year.
“In aggregate, their wealth surged to $351 billion, a bit more than double of last year’s $170 billion, making India’s 40 by far the wealthiest such group in all of Asia,” the magazine added.
Forbes said 29 of the people who returned to the list were richer than last year with the exception of Rahul Bajaj whose fortune was flat at $2.3 billion.
Newcomers to the list include Gautam Adani who built Mundra Port, Anand Jain, Mukesh Ambani’s school buddy, and Gautum Thapar, whose Ballarpur Industries is India’s largest paper maker.
Notable drop-offs include Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and among those who failed to make the cut are Infosys’ Nandan Nilekani and Senapathy Gopalakrishnan, and investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
