Forbes India 15th Anniversary Special

India Rich List 2013: Vital Stats

The list of India’s richest says more than just how wealthy they are

Published: Nov 9, 2013 06:42:41 AM IST
Updated: Nov 7, 2013 02:30:26 PM IST

The most social media savvy billionaire is Vijay Mallya with 2.2 million followers; next in line is Anand Mahindra who has close to 1 million followers. But, judging by their absence, most billionaires seem to have a quiet disdain for social networks.

If the billionaire list was representative of India’s overall population, there would be 48 women billionaires in the top 100. Instead there are just 5.





Of the five women on the list,  just two— Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw  and  Shobhana Bhartia— managed to increase their wealth; but by only  5 percent and  4 percent respectively.

11 Of the 100 rankings are held by families. Only one—The Hinduja brothers— feature in the top 10.



There are only two first-generation entrepreneurs (Shiv Nadar and Sunil Mittal) in the top 10; and just one (Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw) in the bottom 10.If business isn’t in your blood, becoming a billionaire in India can be really tough.

Parsis represent just  0.005 percent  of India’s population, but  four of them  hold close to  10 percent  of the total wealth of the top 100 richest Indians.

(This story appears in the 28 November, 2013 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)