Mumbai: According to the latest Forbes list Mukesh Ambani Chairman of Reliance Industries once again became India’s richest person with a net worth of US $22.7 billion.
Mukesh Ambani’s fortune increased from $18.9 billion last year as shares of RIL rose 21% in the past 12 months. The company launched its 4G phone service, Jio, in September, sparking a price war in India’s hypercompetitive telecommunications market.
Dilip Shanghvi, India’s richest pharmaceutical magnate remains at second position with a net worth of $16.9 billion. His wealth fell by $1.1 billion along with a drop in the shares of his Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, the world’s fifth-largest generics maker.
Earlier in 2016, Sun acquired 14 drugs from Novartis in Japan for $293 million, which will be distributed by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma. Tech magnate Azim Premji, who has led Wipro for five decades, slips one spot to number 4 with a net worth of $15 billion.
Wipro, India’s third-largest outsourcer, reported a 6% fall in net earnings to $304 million in a recent quarter amid sluggish sales. To boost growth, the company has been on a buying spree and its most recent acquisition was Health Plan Services, an insurance-technology firm based in Florida.
The top 10 richest in India are:
Mukesh Ambani; US $22.7 billion – I
Dilip Shanghvi; $16.9 billion – II
Hinduja brothers; $15.2 billion – III
Azim Premji; $15 billion – IV
Pallonji Mistry; $13.9 billion – V
Lakshmi Mittal; $12.5 billion – VI
Godrej family; $12.4 billion – VII
Shiv Nadar; $11.4 billion – VIII
Kumar Birla; $8.8 billion – IX
Cyrus Poonawalla, $8.6 billion – X