Self-made entrepreneurs tighten hold over India's super-rich list
- A record 66% of the people featured on this year’s Hurun India Rich List were self-made entrepreneurs. The list, which comprised Indians with a net worth of more than ₹1,000 crore, was topped by Mukesh Ambani
A record 871 self-made Indian entrepreneurs had a net worth exceeding ₹1,000 crore each as of 31 August 2023, according to an annual list published by Hurun India on Tuesday. These entrepreneurs comprised 66% of the 1,319 such super-rich individuals in the country, up from54% five years ago.
At the top of the self-made list was Gautam Adani, who ranked second overall with a net worth of ₹4.75 trillion. However, his net worth has declined drastically this year, as Reliance Industries chairperson Mukesh Ambani reclaimed the top slot from him.
The list saw 278 new entrants, a sharp recovery from the drop seen last year owing to volatility in financial markets. Nearly 74% of the people on the list saw an increase in their wealth, while 20% saw a decrease (the rest dropped out or passed away). The ratio was much bleaker in 2022, with 55% individuals gaining wealth and 38% losing it.
The combined wealth of all individuals in the latest list totalled ₹109 trillion, with nearly 57% of this coming from first-generation entrepreneurs, the 360 ONE Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2023 said. In the 2022 list, 1,103 Indians had a net worth over ₹1,000 crore.
The list, which relies on publicly available data, covers those born or brought up in India irrespective of their current place of residence or citizenship. The number of Indians with a net worth exceeding ₹1 trillion remained unchanged at 12.
“The entry of startup founders and the rise in self-made entrepreneurs in the last five years indicate a dynamic business landscape," said Anirudha Taparia, co-founder & joint chief executive officer at 360 ONE Wealth, one of the partners in the report. "It suggests that successful valuations for startups and market consolidation in monopolistic or duopoly industries are trends to watch."
Ambani and his family had a net worth of ₹8.1 trillion. Adani’s net worth has dropped sharply since January 2023 after Hindenburg Research made scathing allegations against his conglomerate. Cyrus Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India held steady in the third position with a net worth of ₹2.8 trillion, up 36% since the previous list was published.
On the flip side, Byju Raveendran of Byju's, a pioneer in the field of edtech and a prominent figure in India's startup ecosystem, dropped out of the list following the a string of crises at his company.
The list had 84 startup founders with a collective net worth of ₹4.2 trillion and an average age of 41. The founders of 33 unicorns were on the list.
Young guns and women pioneers
The average super-rich Indian on the list is 63 years old, ranging from 20-year-old Zepto founder Kaivalya Vohra to 94-year-old Mahendra Ratilal Mehta, founder of Precision Wires India Company, who made his debut in the club. Fourteen individuals on the list were born in the 1990s, all of whom were self-made entrepreneurs.
Radha Vembu, co-founder of Zoho, surpassed Falguni Nayar to become the richest self-made Indian woman. She was ranked 40th on the overall list. Neha Narkhede, the 38-year-old co-founder of Confluent, a streaming data technology company, was the youngest self-made woman entrepreneur in the list. She was ranked fifth on the list of self-made women in India and 290th overall. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon and Jayshree Ullal of Arista Network completed the rest of the top five. Ullal with wealth of ₹15,800 crore was also the richest professional manager. Ignatius Navil Noronha of Avenue Supermarts, with ₹5,200 crore, became the richest chief executive officer based in India. Manish Kejriwal, co-founder of Kedaara Capital, became the first Indian private equity fund manager to secure a spot on the list with a net worth of ₹3,000 crore.
Wealth hubs
Mumbai continued to lead with 328 individuals on the list, followed by New Delhi with 199 and Bengaluru with 100. Mumbai added 45 newbies, further solidifying its position as India's hub of wealth creation. A notable addition to the list was Tiruppur, a city in Tamil Nadu. The city made its debut in the top 20 cities producing the highest number of list entrants.
The pharmaceutical sector took the lead with 133 individuals on the list, followed by the chemicals and petrochemicals sector (110), and the industrial products sector, with 94. The industrial products sector emerged as the fastest-growing industry, adding 33 new faces. As many as 51 entrepreneurs saw their net worth double, led by 10 from the industrial products sector.
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