Top Ten Richest People in India 2013

India is the second largest country in the world and home to some of the world’s brightest entrepreneurial minds. The economy is India is rapidly growing and is becoming a significant global player in a number of different industries. Fueled by passion and hope of a better world the individuals represented on this list have taken the steps to leave a mark on the world. Here are the top ten richest people in India:

10

Kushal Pal Singh

Net worth: $6.3 billion

Age: 81

Country: India

Source of wealth: Real Estate

Kushal Pal Singh is the chairman and CEO of DLF Limited, the largest real estate developer in all of India. He currently manages a land bank of more than 10,255 acres with more than 3000 acres located in Gurgaon called DLF City. Recently, in 2011 his autobiography was released aptly named “Whatever the Odds: The Incredible Story Behind DLF” which portrays his rise to power and the extraordinary barriers he had to overcome to reach the levels of success he has over his career.

9

Shiv Nadar

Net worth: $6.5 billion

Age: 67

Country: India

Source of wealth: Information Technology

As the founder and chairman of HCL and the Shiv Nadar Foundation, Shiv Nadar is the ninth richest person in India. HCL was founded in the mid 1970’s and played a pivotal role in transforming the IT industry in India. In 2008, Nadar was awarded Padma Bhushan for his efforts in the IT industry. Nicknamed by friends as Magus, he has focused his efforts in further developing the educational system in India through his charity organization the Shiv Nadar Foundation. Today HCL brings in more than $6.2 billion in annual revenue and employs more than 90,000 people in more than 31 countries.

8

Sunil Mittal

Net worth: $6.8 billion

Age: 55

Country: India

Source of wealth: Telecommunications

Sunil Mittal is the founder and chairman, and CEO of Bharti Enterprises. The $8.3 billion company runs India’s largest GSM-based mobile phone service and is currently the fifth largest wireless company in the world with more than 190 million customers in more than 19 countries across Asia and Africa. Everything about Mittal embodies the entrepreneurial spirit. He started his first business at the age of 18 with a capital investment of $340 borrowed from his father to make crankshafts for local bicycle manufacturers. In his 20’s he and his brothers Rakesh and Rajan started an import company called Bharti Overseas Trading Company and imported thousands of Suzuki Motor’s portable electronic-power generators from Japan. In 1984 is when he entered into the telecommunications industry by assembling push-button phones and the rest is history.

7

Savitri Jindal

Net worth: $7.6 billion

Age: 63

Country: India

Source of wealth: Steel

Savitri Jindal is the richest woman in the country of India. She is the chairperson of the O.P. Jindal Group and member of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha. She assumed mantle of the O.P. Jindal Group when her husband tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2005. An interesting fact about Savitri Jindal, is she has the most children of any billionaire mothers in the world with 9 children. She left managing of the company to her youngest son, Naveen Jindal who manages the day-to-day operations of the company.

6

Kumar Birla

Net worth: $7.9 billion

Age: 46

Country: India

Source of wealth: Commodoties

The youngest person on this list, Kumar Birla is currently serving as the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest business conglomerates in India. After the sudden death of his father, at the age of 28, Kumar Birla took over as Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group in 1995. At the time many people doubted his ability, at such a young age, to manage one of the largest companies in the world. Birla managed not only to prove his skeptics wrong, but has become one of the most respected industrialists in the world. Under his leadership, Aditya has expanded into telecom, software, BPO, and other areas all while consolidating its position in its existing businesses. Today, the company employs more than 130,000 individuals, does business in more than 30 countries,  and has revenue of more than $33 billion per year.

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5

Shashi and Ravi Ruia

Net worth: $8.5 billion

Country: India

Source of wealth: Diversified

Together, the brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia are the founders of Essar Group. The Essar Group is a multinational business conglomerate and a leading player in the oil, steel, gas, power, communications, shipping, ports, and logistics sectors. The group currently employs more than 75,000 people around the world and operates in more than 20 countries across 5 continents. Last year the company saw revenue in excess of $17 billion. In April 2013, Ravi Ruia was awarded the prestigious award for Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability at The Asian Awards in London.

4

Dilip Shanghvi

Net worth: $9.4 billion

Age: 57

Country: India

Source of wealth: Pharmaceuticals

Dilip Shanghvi is the founder and managing director of Sun Pharmaceuticals Limited and currently the fourth richest person in India. Sun Pharma was originally founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company offers formulations is various therapeutic areas including cardiology, psychiatry, neurology, gastroenterology, and diabetology. Sun Pharma is currently the third largest and the most profitable pharmaceutical company in all of India. Much of Sun Pharma’s growth is attributed to a number of key acquisitions over the last two decades including a manufacturing plant bought from Knoll  Pharmaceuticals and MJ Pharma’s dosage plant.

3

Azim Premji

Net worth: $11.2 billion

Age: 67

Country: India

Source of wealth: Software

Azim Premji is the chairman of Wipro Limited and has guided the company for more than four decades of diversification and growth and has successfully emerged as one of the leading Indian software companies. In 2001, Premji founded the Azim Premji Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to significantly contribute to achieving universal education that facilitates a humane and sustainable society. Most recently in 2010, Premji vowed to donate $2 billion of his personal money to improving schools and education quality throughout India. This donation is considered to be the largest charitable donation i the history of the country of India. Beyond his own charity, Premji also joined the Giving Pledge, which is an organization led by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates that encourages the richest and wealthiest people in the world to give most of their wealth to support philanthropic causes. This makes him the first Indian to join the organization, and the 3rd non-American. He has pledged to give at least 25 percent of his personal wealth to charity.

2

Lakshmi Mittal

Net worth: $16.5 billion

Age: 63

Country: India

Source of wealth: Steel

As the current CEO of of ArcelorMittal, Lakshmi Mittal is the second richest person in India. ArcelorMittal is the largest steelmaking company in the entire world. Mittal currently owns 41 percent of ArcelorMittal. Also interestingly enough, Mittal is the richest person in the world of Asian descent. Besides ArcelorMittal, Mittal holds a 34 percent statek in the Queens Park Rangers F.C. football team and serves on the board of directors of Goldman Sachs since 2008. In 2006, The Sunday Times name Mittal as the “Person of the Year” and Time magazine named him “International Newsmaker of the Year 2006.” Due to his influence in the steel market, he is considered one of the most influential and powerful people in the world.

1

Mukesh Ambani

Net worth: $21.5 billion

Age: 56

Country: India

Source of wealth: Petrochemicals, oil and gas

Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani is the richest person in the country of India. Ambani is the eldest son of Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance Industries and is currently the largest shareholder in RIL. RIL is a conglomerate dealing mainly in refining and Petrochemical oil and gas manufacturing. WIth a 44.7 percent stake in the company, Ambani is one of the richest people in the entire world. For the larger part of the last decade Ambani has held the position of the richest person in India, which is quite the accomplishment considering how much economic growth the country has seen as of late. Besides RIL, Ambani also serves on the board of directors of the Bank of America Corporation and on the international advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations. Forbes magazine also named Ambani the richest sports owner in the world. He is one of the co-owners of the Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians.

 

Source: Forbes

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