Mukesh Ambani richest Indian: Forbes
AGENCIES
Posted: Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 1257 hrs IST
New York: Mukesh Ambani has retained his position as the world's richest Indian for the fifth year in a row, despite a decline in his networth to USD 21 billion, according to an annual rich list released today.
Although Ambani's networth declined for the third year in a row, including a plunge of USD 1.6 billion in past one year, his fortune remains more than 30 per cent above that of the second-ranked Lakshmi Mittal, as per business magazine Forbes' latest annual ranking of 100 wealthiest Indians. Steel baron Mittal's networth fell by USD 3 billion to USD 16 billion.
Ambani, who heads energy-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries group, and Mittal are followed by IT czar Azim Premji (USD 12.2 billion), construction major and Tata group's major shareholder Shapoorji Pallonji group patriarch Pallonji Mistry (USD 9.8 billion) and drugmaker Sun Pharma's Dilip Shanghvi (USD 9.2 billion) in the top-five.
Mukesh's younger brother Anil Ambani is ranked 11th (USD 6 billion), as he movs up two positions from 13th last year. Others in top 10 include Adi Godrej at 6th position (USD 9 billion), followed by Savitri Jindal (USD 8.2 billion), Shashi & Ravi Ruia (USD 8.1 billion), Hinduja Brothers (USD 8 billion) and Kumar Mangalam Birla (USD 7.8 billion). Telecom czar Sunil Mittal and Gautam Adani have moved out of the top 10 and are now ranked 12th and 16th respectively.
Last year, Mittal was ranked sixth and Adani was seventh. Even as the networth of top-ranked persons like Ambani and Mittal fell, the collective wealth of India's richest 100 rose by 3.7 per cent (USD 9 billion) to USD 250 billion in the past one year, Forbes said. In the preceding year, the total wealth of India's 100 richest had fallen by 20 per cent. The number of billionaires has risen to 61, from 57 last year. Sun Pharma's Shanghvi has made his debut in top five this year.
Total wealth of 100 richest grows 3.7 pct
(Reuters) Red tape and scandal hurt India's richest, but total wealth grows tape and scandal hurt India's richest, but total wealth grows. The corruption scandals and red tape that have hampered India's recent growth took their toll on some of the country's richest in 2012, Forbes magazine's latest rankings showed, though the total worth of the wealthiest 100 inched up in a turbulent year.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of telecoms giant Bharti Airtel Ltd and Gautam Adani, chairman of the power-focused Adani Group, dropped out of Forbes' annual list of the 10 richest Indians, as uncertainty and controversy gripped their industries. The fallout from a telecoms scandal that saw 2G licenses sold illegally in 2008 has rumbled on through this year as the government has grappled with how to re-auction the airwaves.India's power and coal industries have been plagued by shortages and delays in mining approvals, due in part to greater scrutiny in the aftermath of accusations the government allocated coal blocks to private companies at below-market prices.
Savitri Jindal, chairwoman of power and steel conglomerate Jindal Group, saw her wealth fall $1.3 billion in the year as Jindal Steel and Power subsidiary is alleged to have benefited from those allocations. The company has denied allegations that it was unduly favoured in the allocation process. In the 12 months since Forbes released its 2011 list, India's GDP growth rate has slumped to 5.5 percent from 8 percent. Mukesh Ambani was India's richest man for the fifth straight year, with wealth of $21 billion, Forbes said, even as his Reliance Industries Ltd lost about 7 percent of its market value. ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal was ranked second despite losing $3 billion in net worth since last October.
The biggest climber in the Forbes list was Dilip Shanghvi, chairman of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, India's biggest drugmaker by market capitalisation, who entered the top five for the first time as his company's share price soared. The collective wealth of India's 100 richest rose 3.7 percent to $250 billion, Forbes said, with seven people losing more than $1 billion each over the past 12 months but six gaining at least that. The list includes 61 billionaires, four more than in 2011, Forbes said, as the minimum wealth necessary to enter the list rose 25 percent to $460 million, still below the threshold of $500 million in 2010.
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