Opinion
Mint Quick Edit | India’s count of billionaires is on a roll
Summary
- A UBS report says the country now has 185 individuals with over $1 billion in assets, with 32 billionaires minted over the year. For such growth to sustain, we need the less wealthy doing a lot better. Here’s an idea.
One way of gauging how a country is faring is to track the wealth of its people. India, by that measure, is doing well.
According to the latest Billionaire Ambitions Report of UBS, its count of billionaires rose to 185 in 2024, making India home to the third-largest group of individuals with over $1 billion in assets.
Also read: Consumption data lays bare India’s deep inequality—and leaves behind a big question
This marked an addition of 32 billionaires over the past year, a 21% rise. In comparison, top-ranked America, which now has 835 billionaires, added 84 of them in the past year, an 11% increase. Meanwhile, China saw its billionaire count fall by 93 to 427.
Broadly, these numbers reflect the performance of stock markets, with Indian and American shares having gained more value than Chinese. India has had the added advantage of an unprecedented retail share-buying boom since 2020.
Also read: Wealth inequality: Give all Indians a stake in capitalism—literally
For wealth expansion at the top of India’s pyramid to be sustainable, however, lower slabs need to do better.
While wider equity ownership is a positive sign, the country’s median asset count, a figure that divides the population into upper and lower halves, is far below America’s.
The “wealth effect" of fast-rising stock prices needs to be a more effective driver of broad consumption trends in India.
Also read: Wealth and whim: Should the wealthy spend their money as they wish?
