The IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020 identifies some of India’s richest entrepreneurs, both men and women, putting the spotlight on first-generation entrepreneurs who became billionaires. Most of the men and women who have made it to this list are young, self-made founders who started with innovative technology companies and were also responsible for doubling, tripling, quadrupling its revenue, and their own wealth many times over.
The IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020 saw some of the most well-known names take the top spots as well as new faces emerging with inspiring stories behind their rise to power. The Rich List 2020 report was prepared by the Hurun Report Inc., a luxury publishing and events group, together with IIFL Wealth Management Ltd., one of India’s leading Wealth Management Companies.
The IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List is a barometer of the Indian economy, helping us understand which industries have gone up, innovated, or gone down. The stories of these entrepreneurs tell the stories of India’s modern businesses. – said Anas Rahman Junaid, MD, and Chief Researcher, Hurun India
This year’s release, which was quite insightful, spoke volumes about the impact of the lockdown on India’s richest entrepreneurs and how they have managed to hold on or pass on their titles.
Here are the top 10 rich listers of the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020 in the order of rank, name, wealth (INR Cr.), and company:
1 Mukesh Ambani 658,400 Reliance Industries
2 Hinduja Brothers 143,700 Hinduja
3 Shiv Nadar & Family 141,700 HCL
4 Gautam Adani & Fly. 140,200 Adani
5 Azim Premji 114,400 Wipro
6 Cyrus S Poonawalla 94,300 Serum Institute of India
7 Radhakishan Damani & Fly. 87,200 Avenue Supermarts
8 Uday Kotak 87,000 Kotak Mahindra Bank
9 Dilip Sanghvi 84,000 Sun Pharmaceutical Industries
10 Cyrus Pallonji Mistry/Shapoor Pallonji Mistry 76,000 Shapoorji Pallonji
A total of 827 individuals comprising Indians and the Indian diaspora were featured in the list. The star of the show was Mukesh Ambani, who seems to have been immune and unfettered by the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. In fact, 2020 has largely been in his favor. With a few strategic investments, Mukesh Ambani’s wealth saw a ‘V-shaped recovery’ from an initial onslaught due to the pandemic. Featured number 1 on the top 10 list, Mukesh Ambani is unshakeable from his position for the 9th year in a row.
India is a land of entrepreneurs, and we are indeed pleased that IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020, is able to showcase not just entrepreneurship but various other facets of our nation’s wealth creators. What is even more encouraging is that while the number of wealthy in the top cities has increased, the list features entrepreneurs from 111 cities, which is a testimony of the wealth creation taking place across the country. – said Anirudha Taparia, Executive Director, IIFL Wealth & Asset Management
The list has been compiled with thorough research making it an extensive report. All the data forming the basis of this report spans across multiple cities from every corner of India and even abroad. Deep insights can be gleaned, especially about how modern businesses have a big hand in the Indian economy and its GDP.
The report’s key highlights suggest that the Pharmaceutical industry emerged as the biggest gainer with maximum new entrant entrepreneurs. In fact, the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex (BSE) saw a 4.1% rise with the rise of pharma shares. The Covid-19 pandemic has seen a significant increase in healthcare expenditure, which has led to more pharmaceutical entrepreneurs entering the field. On the other hand, the Construction, Engineering, and Real Estate industries are naturally the most hard-hit this year and moved to lower positions on the list.
Coming to impressive new entrants to the list, Byju Raveendran, a notable young entrepreneur, bagged the 52nd position with a wealth of INR 20,400 Cr. Byju’s company ‘Think & Learn’ recently purchased White Hat Jr. for $300 Million. Both companies belong to the EdTech and online learning niches, which have gained significant traction during the lockdown. Ronnie Screwvala, of Unilazer ventures and UpGrad, is another noteworthy debutante on the list this year, with a net worth of INR 6500 Cr.
The IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020 puts a spotlight on some of India’s richest entrepreneurs every year and reveals interesting insights on the contribution of these valuable wealth creators towards the Indian economy.
