Opinion
Mint Quick Edit | The boost India can get from its billionaire boom
Summary
- India’s dollar billionaire count has risen to 334, according to the Hurun India Rich List for 2024. A new one is being created every five days. Here’s why it matters so much for the emergence of our economy.
India’s billionaire count has climbed to 334, according to the Hurun India Rich List for 2024, as the country takes an inlcreasingly central role in the wealth being created globally. India is notching up one new dollar billionaire at an average of every five days.
In contrast, China’s billionaire count witnessed a 25% fall, although it still has many more. “India continues to score Gold in the ‘Wealth Creation Olympics’," said Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher of Hurun India.
Rapid wealth generation is usually taken as a sign of economic activity flourishing. Yet, it’s worth remembering that this wealth is mostly on paper, a function of share values going up, and should well-known business owners start selling more than thin slices of their holdings, market prices may slide in response.
One strategy that billionaires who are not at risk of losing control of their companies could follow is to announce bit-by-bit liquidation plans to fund philanthropic missions.
That way, they could do fellow citizens a good turn without questions arising over why they’re selling their shares. Less uneven standards of living would serve the economy and thus their own businesses well.
