Mumbai is now the billionaire capital of Asia, beats Beijing: Hurun report

The meteoric rise in India’s exclusive billionaire club was led by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani ($115 billion) and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani ($86 billion)

India’s financial capital Mumbai has now overtaken Beijing as Asia’s billionaire capital for the first time with 93 members in the exclusive rich club, according to Global Rich List 2024 published by Hurun Research Institute.

According to the Shanghai-based institute, New York and London lead the cities with 119 and 97 billionaires, respectively.

Meanwhile, New Delhi also made it to the coveted list for the first time ever.

"Mumbai was the fastest-growing billionaire capital in the world, adding 26 in the year and taking it to third spot in the world and Asia's billionaire capital. New Delhi broke into the Top 10 for the first time," said the Hurun Global Rich List 2024.

The meteoric rise in India’s exclusive billionaire club was led by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani ($115 billion) and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani ($86 billion), who was helped by a 33% surge in wealth. Overall, the country has added 94 people to its list, taking the total to 271 ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI), the report said, adding that it was the highest since 2013. Mumbai alone has contributed 26 to the list.

Rohiqa Cyrus Mistry, who leads Sterling Investments, and Ina Ashwin Dani of paint manufacturer Asian Paints are among the new entrants in the list. Mistry is the wife of the late Cyrus Mistry, the former chairman of Tata Group.

This has come at a time when the country is witnessing a robust growth with the gross domestic product recording a 7.5% surge in 2023. Pharmaceuticals, automobile, automobile components and chemicals industry were some of the country’s sectors that dominated the UHNWI’s list.

India’s neighbour China topped the list with 814 billionaires. However, its ultra-rich list reduced by 155 from 2022 as the country witnessed turmoil in the real estate and renewable energy sectors. The stock market has also underperformed, resulting in as many as 40 billionaires dropped out of the list in the last two years as the overall wealth in the country declined by 15%.

The US came second in the list with 800 total billionaires, adding 109 new members. The artificial intelligence mania has contributed to the new additions, which was led by Nvidia boss Jensen Huang who jumped into the top 30 with assets of $48 billion.

A new entrant to the list was mega star and Time’s Person of the Year Taylor Swift with a wealth of $1.2 billion as her fortune generated from royalties and Eras Tour contributed significantly to her rise.

Overall, the US accounted for 37% of the global rich list, which ranked 3,279 people from 73 countries. The number of billionaires recorded a growth of 5% and their total wealth rose by 9%.