Mukesh Ambani reclaims top spot on India’s 100 richest list; Savitri Jindal wealthiest woman

Ambani made a big move to cement his succession plan when he appointed his three children to Reliance's board in August.

Chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani reclaimed the top position on the 2023 Forbes list of India’s 100 Richest with a net worth of $92 billion. Shortly after spinning off and listing Jio Financial Services, which has an asset management joint venture with BlackRock, Ambani made a big move to cement his succession plan when he appointed his three children to Reliance's board in August.

Gautam Adani was the richest person in India in 2022, but his fortune took a huge hit after a bad report by a US short-seller named Hindenburg Research sent his company's shares plunging. Even though he's had a bit of a recovery, his net worth - which includes his family - dropped to $68 billion, which is the biggest drop in both dollar and percentage terms; he's now in second place behind Ambani.

The collective wealth of India’s 100 Richest was flat at $799 billion for 2023.

Shiv Nadar, the software magnate, has moved up two spots to number three with a net worth of $29.3 billion, thanks to a 42% surge in HCL Technologies' shares over the past year. At number four, Savitri Jindal of the powerful Jindal Group, which owns power and steel companies, has a $24 billion net worth, up 46% from the previous year, thanks to the recent IPO of her son's ports unit, JSW Infrastructure. Last, but not the least, is Radhakrishnan Damani, who has a net worth of just $23 billion, down from $27 billion the year before.

The top 10 richest in India are:

1) Mukesh Ambani; $92 billion
2) Gautam Adani; $68 billion
3) Shiv Nadar: $29.3 billion
4) Savitri Jindal; $24 billion
5) Radhakishan Damani; $23 billion
6) Cyrus Poonawalla; $20.7 billion
7) Hinduja Family; $20 billion
8) Dilip Shanghvi; $19 billion
9) Kumar Birla; $17.5 billion
10) Shapoor Mistry & Family; $16.9 billion

Naazneen Karmali, Asia Wealth Editor and India Editor of Forbes Asia, said: “India is riding high and is considered a hot spot by global investors. That buoyancy has made the elite club of India’s 100 Richest even more exclusive this year, with the minimum net worth to make the cutoff rising to a record $2.3 billion.”

There are three new entrants this year: Renuka Jagtiani, chairwoman of Landmark Group, a Dubai-headquartered retailing giant, enters the list at No. 44 with $4.8 billion, following the passing of her husband Micky Jagtiani in May. Also new to the list is the Dani family (No. 22, $8 billion) of Asian Paints, heirs of patriarch Ashwin Dani, who died in September. The third newcomer is garment exporter K.P. Ramasamy (No. 100, $2.3 billion), founder and chairman of K.P.R. Mill.

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