Top 10 family-owned businesses control half of the total market value on Barclays-Hurun list

The list of India’s most valuable family-owned companies is becoming increasingly top-heavy, with a small group of promoter families holding a dominant share of market value. The 10 most-valuable families account for nearly half of the total Rs 134 lakh crore valuation of the country’s top 300 family-run companies, according to the Barclays Private Clients Hurun India Most Valuable Family Businesses 2025 report.

The report shows that the top three most valuable families alone — the Ambani family (Rs 28.2 lakh crore), Bajaj family (Rs 8.8 lakh crore) and Kumar Mangalam Birla family (Rs 6.5 lakh crore) — are now worth Rs 42.7 lakh crore (USD 499 billion), nearly equivalent to the GDP of the Philippines. Together, they account for close to one-third of the total list.

The Ambanis retained the top spot for a second consecutive year with a valuation equal to almost one-twelfth of India’s GDP, while the Bajaj family held on to second place after an Rs 89,900 crore gain, and the Birla family remained third with an Rs 1.1 lakh crore increase.

The dominance of large promoter groups is reinforced by their presence in the stock market. Of the 300 companies on the list, 222 (74%) are listed, giving both institutional and retail investors direct exposure to the biggest family-run firms. The remaining 78 are privately held, with Haldiram’s family — valued at Rs 85,800 crore — retaining its position as the most valuable unlisted business for the second year in a row.