Lakshmi Mittal, Vikram Lal among top gainers; Ravi Jaipuria. Mangal Prabhat Lodha lead wealth declines in 2025

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India’s richest families saw a sharply divided year in 2025, as a handful of billionaires delivered double-digit gains while many others struggled with muted or declining wealth amid choppy local equity markets. Volatility dominated trading as foreign investors pulled out, valuations stayed stretched, earnings weakened and global headwinds persisted.

Among the biggest gainers was Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of ArcelorMittal, followed by Eicher Motors founder Vikram Lal and Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal. Other notable winners included Kumar Mangalam Birla of the Aditya Birla Group, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani,  Kotak Mahindra Bank promoter Uday Kotak and Britannia Industries chairman Nusli Wadia.

Lakshmi Mittal, who leads the world’s largest steelmaker outside China, recorded a 59 percent rise in wealth to $31.2 billion. ArcelorMittal’s stock rallied more than 70 percent this year on the back of strong earnings and expectations that new European trade policies would shield the region’s steel industry from low-priced imports.

Vikram Lal emerged as the second-largest wealth gainer, with his net worth climbing 42 percent to $12.4 billion. Shares of Eicher Motors — maker of Royal Enfield motorcycles — surged more than 51 percent in 2025, marking the company’s sixth straight year of gains. The company benefited from a rebound in ultra-premium motorcycles, where it holds an 81 percent market share, improving exports driven by fresh models and markets, and steady share gains in the commercial vehicle segment.

Sunil Mittal ranked third among wealth creators as his fortune rose 26 percent to $30 billion. Bharti Airtel shares advanced 34 percent during the year, extending a seven-year winning streak. The stock gained amid expectations of moderating capital expenditure and rising free cash flow in FY26–27, alongside projections of continued tariff repair over the coming years, according to analysts.

Kumar Mangalam Birla’s wealth increased 21 percent to $22.9 billion, helped by sharp gains in group companies. Hindalco Industries rose 41 percent and Grasim Industries advanced 16 percent, while Vodafone Idea jumped 128 percent and Aditya Birla Capital climbed 104 percent.

Mukesh Ambani’s net worth grew 15 percent to $107 billion during the year. Reliance Industries has gained more than 28 percent so far this year, supported by improved performance across its energy, retail and telecom businesses. Uday Kotak and Nusli Wadia also registered 15 percent increases, taking their wealth to $16.1 billion and $10.8 billion respectively, driven by gains in Kotak Mahindra Bank and Britannia Industries.

Rahul Bhatia of InterGlobe Aviation and Gautam Adani saw relatively modest increases of 7.5 percent each, with their fortunes rising to $9.3 billion and $84.5 billion respectively during the year.

Setbacks for Some

The year also brought about setbacks for several billionaires. Ravi Jaipuria of RJ Corp suffered the sharpest decline. His wealth dropped 27 percent to $12.6 billion after Varun Beverages fell 26 percent, pressured by intensified competition from Campa Cola and concerns over potential tax changes on carbonated drinks.

Mangal Prabhat Lodha of Macrotech Developers saw his net worth decline 24 percent to $9.3 billion, while DLF’s KP Singh recorded a 19 percent drop to $14.4 billion as both stocks tracked weakness across the broader real estate sector. Sales momentum in key housing markets such as Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Pune has slowed over the past 18 months, weighing on growth for large developers.

Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries saw a 13 percent fall in wealth to $25.7 billion. Cyrus Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India and Shiv Nadar of HCL Technologies saw declines of 11 percent each, bringing their wealth to $14.8 billion and $38.5 billion, respectively.

Azim Premji of Wipro recorded a 10 percent drop to $27.8 billion, while Pankaj Patel of Zydus Lifesciences and Shapoor Mistry and family saw declines of 8 percent, with fortunes at $8.4 billion and $35.7 billion respectively.

Several other billionaires posted subdued gains through the year, including Savitri Jindal of OP Jindal Group, Polycab chairman Inder Jaisinghani, Avenue Supermarts founder Radhakishan Damani, Divi’s Laboratories promoter Murali Divi, and Torrent Group owners Samir and Sudhir Mehta.

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