The Top 10

Their total wealth in 2013 is Rs 643,458 crore ($117 billion). Yet, it’s less than the combined wealth of the world’s two richest men, Bill Gates and Carlos Slim Helu

1 MUKESH AMBANI
Rs 113,479 crore
He’s been India’s richest man for long. Last year, Ambani completed 10 years as chairman of Reliance Industries (RIL). During the decade, RIL’s revenues multiplied over six times to Rs 3.7 lakh crore while profits grew over four times to Rs 21,000 crore. He and his family hold 45.34 per cent stake in RIL valued at Rs 2.67-lakh crore.

2 ANIL AGARWAL
Rs 88,558 crore
He has generally chosen to go against conventional wisdom. Vedanta Resources’ London listing in 2003 was one of his many unpredictable moves. Agarwal spent $8.67 billion to buy the cash cow Cairn India. With increased production of zinc, lead and silver, and 32 per cent higher oil and gas output from Cairn India, Agarwal has moved up the ranks.

3 AZIM PREMJI
Rs 84,277 crore
Even as he retains hold on the Wipro group, Azim H. Premji is clearly looking to burnish his legacy of giving. He recently transferred an additional 295.5 million shares of Wipro to an eponymous trust. As a result, his holding is down from over 70 per cent to 58 per cent.



4 SUNIL MITTAL
Rs 75,962 crore
The charismatic CMD of  Bharti Group has seen net debt rise after his Africa venture. With the telecom sector facing regulatory challenges in India, his wealth has declined. Now, he is getting ready to meet the Mukesh Ambani challenge in telecom.

5 K.M. BIRLA
Rs 67,786 crore
The 45-year-old is in the process of creating a $60-billion empire by 2015. Birla has made 26 acquisitions in 17 years, and the group has seen its turnover jump from $2 billion in 1995 to $40 billion now.

6 GAUTAM S. ADANI
Rs 45,333 crore
The man who owns India’s largest private sector port and runs one of its largest power companies has had a rough year. Adani saw his wealth fall by Rs 11,847 crore during the year. Currently, he is looking to prune his company’s debt.

7 RAHUL BAJAJ
Rs 42,115 crore
Bajaj Auto has moved from making scooters to become the third-largest player in the fast-
growing motorcycles market. Now, it is getting into quadricycles. And its chairman’s wealth has gone up by Rs 5,000 crore since last year.

8 SAVITRI JINDAL
Rs 35,112 crore
India’s richest woman, who heads the steel and power conglomerate set up by her husband, the late O.P. Jindal, has seen her fortunes dip by Rs 13,772 crore during the year mostly due to the rising input costs. Her four sons — Prithviraj, Sajjan, Ratan and Naveen (who is also a Member of Parliament) — head the various group companies.

9 DILIP SHANGHVI
Rs 55,775 crore
It was a good year for Sun Pharma’s promoter. Two acquisitions and one exclusive marketing opportunity in the US, aided by an 11 per cent appreciation of the rupee, saw his fortunes rise. But at the time of going to press, the company’s stock price was falling.

10 KESHUB MAHINDRA
Rs 35,059 crore
During his 45 years at the helm, Mahindra Group grew to become one of India’s truly global automakers. He stepped down in 2012, and gave charge to nephew Anand Mahindra.

Anup Jayaram, Joe C. Mathew, Nevin John, Sachin Dave, Venkatesha Babu

(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 17-06-2013)