Indian billionaires see wealth rise, Mukesh Ambani returns to $100 billion club

Reliance Industries (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani (Courtesy: Reuters file photo)

Indian billionaires have seen a notable rise in their net worth following a sharp market rally that began in mid-March on renewed foreign investor inflows amid easing global trade tensions, with Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s wealth topping $100 billion again.

Ambani emerged as the biggest gainer during this period, with his net worth surging by nearly $20 billion from a March low of around $81 billion to over $100 billion, according to Bloomberg data analysed by Moneycontrol.

This jump has placed him among the top 16 wealthiest people globally. His wealth declined to $81 billion on March 4, after a significant correction in Indian markets, but a strong rebound in Reliance Industries and Jio Financial Services stocks — up 25 percent and 29 percent from their April and March lows, respectively — has led much of the recovery. However, his current net worth remains about 20 percent below the record high of $120.8 billion recorded on July 8, 2024.

Gautam Adani, India’s second-richest individual, also saw a substantial gain, with his net worth increasing by over $14.5 billion to $77.5 billion. Despite this recovery, his net worth is still 57 percent below his peak of $120.8 billion seen on June 3, 2024.

Other major gainers include Sun Pharmaceutical’s Dilip Shanghvi and Bharti Airtel’s Sunil Mittal, both of whom saw their net worth climb by more than $4.9 billion from March lows to $28.8 billion and $27.4 billion, respectively. Shanghvi remains 10 percent, while Mittal is just 1 percent shy of their record highs as of September 2024.

Radhakishan Damani, who controls Avenue Supermarts (DMart); Savitri Jindal, India’s richest woman; and Shiv Nadar, founder of HCL Technologies, also saw notable increases in wealth. Their net worths rose by $4.8 billion, $4.6 billion, and $4.5 billion, reaching $31.7 billion, $36.4 billion, and $22.8 billion respectively. Damani remains 27 percent below his record high, Jindal is 16 percent away, and Nadar is 18 percent short of his peak.

Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of ArcelorMittal, and Uday Kotak, former managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, have fully recovered from earlier losses. Their net worths now stand at record highs of $22.8 billion and $16.6 billion, respectively, up by $3.7 billion and $3.1 billion from their January 2025 lows of $19.08 billion and $13.5 billion.

Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia, co-founders of InterGlobe Aviation (parent company of IndiGo), have also recovered from their January 2025 lows, with net worths now nearing all-time highs at around $7.1 billion. Vikram Lal, founder and former CEO of Eicher Motors, has similarly regained lost ground and reached a new record. Meanwhile, Murali Divi, founder and managing director of Divi’s Laboratories, is just 4 percent below his peak net worth recorded in December 2024.

On the other hand, several billionaires remain significantly below their record valuations. Pankaj Patel of Zydus Lifesciences and KP Singh of DLF are both 45 per cent off their highs of $12.3 billion and $20.9 billion, hit in August 2024 and April 2024, respectively. Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of Serum Institute of India, is down 27 percent from his peak, while Mangal Prabhat Lodha of Macrotech Developers and Nusli Wadia of Britannia Industries are each about 22 percent below their record net worths.

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