Forbes India Rich List 2023: The 10 richest people in India

Mukesh Ambani regains the number one position on the Forbes India Rich List 2023 of the 100 wealthiest Indians.

India is currently on an upward trajectory and is being viewed as a prime destination by international investors, which has raised the bar for entry into the country’s exclusive club of the 100 wealthiest individuals. The minimum net worth required to join now has reached an all-time high of $2.3 billion.

The combined wealth of India’s top 100 richest individuals in 2023 has not changed dramatically. It currently stands at $799 billion, which is slightly below the $800 billion mark from the previous year in 2022.

The year 2023 saw Mukesh Ambani regaining the number one position on the list of the 100 wealthiest Indians, having slipped to the second rank in 2022.

Infrastructure tycoon Gautam Adani, who experienced a meteoric rise to become India's wealthiest individual for the first time in 2022, saw a sharp decline in his fortune following a damaging report from US short seller Hindenburg Research in January. This report caused a significant drop in the shares of his group. Although there has been some recovery since then, his overall net worth, including that of his family, plummeted by a substantial $82 billion to $68 billion. This represents the most significant decrease both in terms of dollar value and percentage, causing him to slip back to the second position.

Software magnate Shiv Nadar has advanced by two positions, reclaiming the number three spot with a wealth of $29.3 billion. This shift is attributed to a 42 percent surge in HCL Technologies’ shares over the past year, driven by a resurgence in the tech sector.

Matriarch Savitri Jindal, of the OP Jindal Group, a conglomerate specialising in power and steel, secured the fourth position with a significant increase to $24 billion, marking a 46 percent rise.
At number five is Radhakishan Damani from Avenue Supermarts, though his wealth dropped from $27.6 billion to $23 billion.

Here are India’s top 10 richest people in 2023:

1. Mukesh Ambani, 66

Net Worth:        $92 billion
Company:          Reliance Industries
Industry:            Diversified
Mukesh Ambani is the chairman & MD of Reliance Industries Ltd, an O2C, telecom, and new energy conglomerate. Ambani’s net worth stands at Rs 765,348 crore. He reclaimed the top spot this year with his net worth soaring by $4 billion. 

2. Gautam Adani, 61

Net Worth:        $68 billion
Company:          Adani Enterprises
Industry:            Diversified
Gautam Adani, chairperson, Adani Group, has a net worth of Rs 565,692 crore in rupee terms. After soaring to $150 billion last year, his net worth declined by a whopping $82 billion or 54.67 percent this year. Adani controls India’s largest port, in Mundra, Gujarat.

3. Shiv Nadar, 78

Net Worth:        $29.3 billion
Company:          HCL Technologies
Industry:            Technology
Software tycoon Shiv Nadar climbed two spots to return to No. 3 as shares of HCL Technologies jumped 42 percent in the past year amid a tech rebound. He saw the biggest wealth gain in absolute terms—$7.9 billion. Nadar has donated $662 million to education-related causes. His net worth is Rs 243,746.70 crore.

Also read: Gautam Adani saw a 54 percent drop in his wealth in 2023; Polycab's Inder Jaisinghani gained a staggering 91 percent

4. Savitri Jindal, 73

Net Worth:        $24 billion
Company:          OP Jindal Group
Industry:            Metals & Mining
Matriarch Savitri Jindal of the OP Jindal Group, a power and steel conglomerate, is at No. 4 with $24 billion, up 46 percent, thanks partly to the September IPO of ports unit JSW Infrastructure by her hard-charging son Sajjan Jindal. She saw the second largest wealth gain—$7.6 billion—in absolute terms this year. She is also the only woman billionaire and an active politician in the top 10. Her net worth is Rs 199,656 crore.

5. Radhakishan Damani, 68

Net Worth:        $23 billion
Company:          Avenue Supermarts
Industry:            Fashion & Retail
Radhakishan Damani, who owns the DMart chain of supermarkets, has a net worth of Rs 191,337 crore. Damani’s wealth saw the second largest drop in wealth this year in absolute terms—a $4.6 billion decline. Damani entered retailing in 2002 with one store. Now there are 271 DMart stores in India.

6. Cyrus Poonawalla, 82

Net Worth:        $20.7 billion
Company:          Serum Institute of India
Industry:            Healthcare
Cyrus Poonawalla is the chairman of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturing company, Serum Institute of India. His net worth is Rs 172,203.30 crore. SII forged multiple partnerships to make Covid-19 vaccines at the height of the pandemic. Poonawalla’s assets also include stud farms.

Also read: Forbes India Rich List 2023: Surprises, dropouts and other highlights

7. Hinduja Family, NA

Net Worth:        $20 billion
Company:          Ashok Leyland
Industry:            Diversified
Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja started the Hinduja group in 1914. After the head of the family and former chairman Srichand Hinduja passed away in May 2023, the remaining three siblings—Gopichand, Prakash, and Ashok—now control the multinational conglomerate. Their net worth saw the third-largest jump—$4.8 billion—in absolute terms this year. Their total net worth stands at Rs 166,380 crore. The 108-year-old group is present in 11 sectors, including automotive, oil, speciality chemicals, banking and finance, IT and ITeS, healthcare, media, and real estate.

8. Dilip Shanghvi, 68

Net Worth:        $19 billion
Company:          Sun Pharmaceutical Industries
Industry:            Healthcare
Dilip Shanghvi is the founder of Sun Pharmaceuticals which has more than 40 manufacturing facilities and serves more than 100 countries. With a net worth of Rs 158,061 crore, Shanghvi also has interests in Sun Pharma Advanced Research and BioLight Life Sciences.

9. Kumar Birla, 56

Net Worth:        $17.5 billion
Company:          Aditya Birla Group
Industry:            Diversified
Kumar Birla is the chairman of the textiles-to-cement conglomerate Aditya Birla Group. His net worth is Rs 145,582.50 crore. Birla inherited the group at the age of 28 when his father, Aditya Birla, died in 1995.

Also read: It's Berger Vs Asian Paints, Havells Vs Polycab on the Forbes India Rich List 2023

10. Shapoor Mistry & Family, 59

Net Worth:        $16.9 billion
Company:          Shapoorji Pallonji Group
Industry:            Diversified
Shapoor Mistry now controls the Shapoorji Pallonji Group after the death of his father Pallonji Mistry and younger brother Cyrus Mistry in 2022. The family’s net worth is Rs 140,591.10 crore. An 18.4 percent stake in Tata Sons is their biggest asset.