Mukesh Ambani retains No.1 spot on Forbes list of India's 100 richest people

RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of oil-to-telecoms behemoth Reliance Industries, has retained the top position in the Forbes list of India's richest 100 people.

With $105 billion net worth, Mukesh Ambani remains a “centibillionaire”. Ambani, who jumped into AI by setting up Reliance Intelligence, said he plans to list telecoms unit Jio in 2026.

The Forbes list is available at www.forbes.com/india and www.forbesindia.com. The list can also be found in the October issue of Forbes Asia.

At No. 2 is infrastructure tycoon Gautam Adani & family with a fortune of $92 billion. The founder and chairman of Adani Group got a reprieve in September when India’s securities regulator said U.S. short seller Hindenburg Research’s allegations of fraudulent transactions could not be established. The claims had triggered a massive sell-off in group companies’ shares in 2023.

Retaining the third spot on the list is Savitri Jindal of the O.P. Jindal Group, whose net worth fell by $3.5 billion to $40.2 billion. Telecoms magnate Sunil Mittal was the biggest dollar gainer with his net worth, which he shares with his family, increasing by $3.5 billion to $34.2 billion. He climbed three places to No. 4, a position he had last occupied in 2008. Tech billionaire Shiv Nadar, last year’s fourth-richest, slipped to fifth place with a fortune of $33.2 billion.

Making their debut on the list at No. 37 are the Doshi siblings with a combined fortune of $7.5 billion. Their Waaree Energies, India’s largest maker of solar panels by capacity, went public late last year at a 70% premium to its issue price. Another newcomer is Sunil Vachani (No. 80, $3.85 billion), founder and chairman of Dixon Technologies, which makes a range of electronic products for companies such as Samsung and Xiaomi.

Among the returnees to the ranks are Leena Tewari (No. 82, $3.8 billion) of USV; P.N.C. Menon (No. 87, $3.6 billion) of Sobha, and K.P. Ramasamy (No. 97, $3.3 billion) of KPR Mill. Seven from last year dropped off from the ranking, and the cutoff to qualify for the list fell slightly to $3.2 billion from $3.3 billion last year.

The top 10 richest in India are:

1) Mukesh Ambani: $105 billion
2) Gautam Adani & family: $92 billion
3) Savitri Jindal: $40.2 billion
4) Sunil Mittal & family: $34.2 billion
5) Shiv Nadar: $33.2 billion
6) Radhakishan Damani & family: $28.2 billion
7) Dilip Shanghvi: $26.3 billion
8) Bajaj Family: $21.8 billion
9) Cyrus Poonawalla: $21.4 billion10) Kumar Birla: $20.7 billion

The combined wealth of India’s 100 Richest on the 2025 Forbes list fell 9%, or $100 billion to US$1 trillion.

This list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and India’s regulatory agencies. The ranking lists family fortunes, including those shared among extended families such as the Bajaj and Burman families. Public fortunes were calculated based on stock prices and exchange rates as of September 19. Private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded. The list can also include foreign citizens with business, residential or other ties to the country, or citizens who don’t reside in the country but have significant business or other ties to the country.

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