Indian billionaires shine in first half of 2025 despite market turbulence

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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The wealth of several Indian billionaires saw significant growth despite pronounced market volatility in the first half of 2025, with foreign and retail investors largely staying on the sidelines and mutual funds maintaining elevated cash levels amid geopolitical tensions and richly valued equity markets.

Satyanarayan Nuwal, Co-founder and Chairman of Solar Industries India, recorded the highest surge in wealth during this period, with his net worth soaring by over 78 percent to $7.90 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index data. Solar Industries, headquartered in Nagpur, manufactures explosives, detonators, drones, and ammunition. The company's stock jumped 81 percent in 2025, following gains of 45 percent in 2024 and 54 percent in 2023.

Solar Industries robust order book of around Rs 17,000 crore—including Rs 15,000 crore in defence orders—has significantly boosted investor confidence. Solar Industries has projected FY26 revenue at Rs 100 billion, representing a 33 percent increase over FY25, with Rs 30 billion expected from defence. The explosives segment is projected to grow between 15 to 20 percent, according to the company.

Sunil Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Airtel, and Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman of ArcelorMittal—the world's largest steelmaker—were the second and third biggest gainers. Sunil Mittal’s wealth rose by over 27 percent to $30.40 billion, supported by a 27 percent rally in Bharti Airtel’s stock in 2025 so far, after gains of 54 percent in 2024 and 28 percent in 2023. Analysts attribute this to strong subscriber additions following recent tariff hikes, which are expected to bolster future revenues.

Lakshmi Mittal’s net worth climbed over 26 percent, with Luxembourg listed ArcelorMittal’s stock advancing more than 20 percent, despite concerns over rising tariffs in Europe that expected to impact margins.

Other notable gainers included Rahul Bhatia, Co-founder of InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo - India’s largest airline), whose wealth jumped nearly 25 percent to $10.8 billion. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, saw a 22 percent increase in his wealth. Radhakishan Damani, who controls Avenue Supermarts, posted a 21 percent gain. Benu Bangur, Chairman emeritus of Shree Cement, and Uday Kotak, former managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, each recorded gains of over 20 percent.

Other billionaires were Vikram Lal, founder of Eicher Motors (wealth rose 16 percent), Nusli Wadia, chairman of Britannia Industries (wealth gained 16 percent), Rakesh Gangwal, co-founder of InterGlobe Aviation (14.5 percent), Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group (11.4 percent), Murli Divi, founder of Divi’s Laboratories (10 percent), and Gautam Adani, founder of Adani Group (9 percent), Bloomberg data showed.

On the other end, Ravi Jaipuria, chairman of RJ Corp, saw the steepest decline in wealth—down 24.6 percent—following a 28.5 percent drop in its flagship subsidiary Varun Beverages’ stock, a PepsiCo franchisee. Dilip Shanghvi, founder of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, experienced a decline of over 10 percent in his wealth. Azim Premji (Wipro) and Shapoor Mistry (Tata Sons) saw their wealth fall by nearly 8 percent, while Shiv Nadar’s wealth declined over 6 percent.

During this period, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty gained 7.2 percent and 8.1 percent respectively. However, the BSE MidCap index rose only 0.5 percent, and the BSE SmallCap index declined by 1.2 percent.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold Indian equities worth over $8.92 billion, while retail investors added just Rs 5,000 crore. Mutual funds remained net buyers, investing over Rs 2.38 lakh crore in equities, with cash holdings standing at Rs 1.65 lakh crore in May, down from Rs 1.73 lakh crore in April.

Disclaimer: MoneyControl is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.