India’s financial hub Mumbai has overtaken Beijing as Asia’s billionaire capital for the first time, according to a global rich list released Monday by the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute.
Mumbai has 92 billionaires behind New York which has 119 and London with 97.
Led by business leaders including Reliance Industries’ Mukesh Ambani and Adani Group’s Gautam Adani, and helped by a robust economy that will grow 7.5% in 2023, India as a whole added 94 people to its list of 271 billionaires, the report said. This was India’s highest number since 2013.
While China remained at the top with 814 billionaires, its number of ultra-rich has shrunk by 155 since 2022 as the country’s real estate and renewable energy sectors struggled to grow and its stock markets remained weak. The US moved closer to China in 2023, adding 109 to take second place with a total of 800 billionaires.
At the head of India’s cohort of billionaires is Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, with a staggering net worth of $115 billion. Gautam Adani, founder of the energy conglomerate Adani Group, follows closely behind with $86 billion in assets, a $33 billion increase in wealth attributed to the rise in his companies’ shares.
The report highlighted the dominance of specific industries that contributed to India’s billionaire boom, with the pharmaceutical sector leading the way with 39 billionaires, followed by the automotive and automotive industry (27) and the chemical sector (24). Combined, the wealth of India’s billionaires stands at a staggering $1 trillion, representing 7% of global billionaire wealth, highlighting the country’s substantial economic influence.
The report also highlighted the landmark merger between Reliance Industries of India and Walt Disney, which combined their TV and streaming assets in India into an $8.5 billion entity. The goal of this strategic consolidation is to create a dominant force in the global entertainment industry.
