Note Ban Hits Billionaires’ Club, but Ambani Remains Top-Earner

Since demonetisation, India lost 11 billionaires.

File image of Mukesh Ambani. (Photo: Reuters)

India’s richie rich club has shrunk by 11 people since demonetisation last November, while Mukesh Ambani remains the richest Indian with a net worth of $26 billion (around Rs 1,732 billion), a study showed on Tuesday.

The country now has 132 billionaires with a net worth of $1 billion (around Rs 66.64 billion) or more and the cumulative wealth of the ultra-rich people stood at $392 billion (around Rs 26, 122 billion), according to Hurun Global Rich List India.

Though there has been a fall in number of billionaires in the country since demonetisation, the aggregate total wealth of the ultra-rich people has increased by 16 per cent over last year, the report said.

In the list of top 10 richest people, Ambani is followed by the SP Hinduja and family at the second position with a net worth of $14 billion (around Rs 929 billion), followed by Dilip Shanghvi, at the third position with a wealth of $14 billion (around Rs 900 billion).

Others in the top 10 billionaires include Pallonji Mistry at the fourth place with $12 billion (around Rs 770 billion); Lakshmi N Mittal at fifth position with $12 billion (around Rs 770 billion); Shiv Nadar at sixth with $12 billion (around Rs 770 billion); Cyrus Poonawalla at number 7 with $11 billion (around Rs 708 million), etc.

“India had a tough year because of disruptive government policies such as demonetisation drive. However, on a long term perspective, we do believe that such transparent currency economics will have a positive impact for the entrepreneurs,” Hurun Report India Managing Director and Chief Researcher Anas Rahman Junaid said.

Among cities, Mumbai is the capital for India's super-rich as the city is home to 42 billionaires, followed by Delhi (21) and Ahmedabad (9).