Mukesh Ambani retains top slot with net worth of $23.6 bn

SINGAPORE (TIP): For the first time, the 100 richest tycoons in India are all billionaires with Mukesh Ambani topping the league for the eighth consecutive year, according to Forbes. With a net worth of $23.6 billion, up $2.6 billion from last year, RIL chief Mukesh Ambani topped the list for the eighth consecutive year. He is followed by Dilip Shanghvi, who got richer this year by $4.1 billion. Shanghvi is the new No. 2, after he displaced steel baron Lakshmi Mittal ($15.8 billion), who slipped to the fifth place.

Wipro’s Azim Premji moved up one notch to the number three position as his net wealth increased to $16.4 billion from $13.8 billion previously. Pallonji Mistry, patriarch of construction giant Shapoorji Pallonji Group which is the biggest shareholder in Tata Sons with a new worth of $15.9 billion, was placed in the fourth place.

Forbes said “good days are here” for the India’s 100 richest, as the top 100 richest Indians are all billionaires with combined wealth of $346 billion, up more than a third from $259 billion in 2013.

The biggest dollar gainer is ports magnate Gautam Adani, who jumped 11 spots to 11th rank in the list, adding nearly $4.5 billion to his wealth which reached $7.1 billion.

Others in the top 10 include NRI businessmen Hinduja Brothers who were at the sixth position with a net worth of $13.3 billion, followed by Shiv Nadar (7th, $12.5 billion), Godrej family (8th, $11.6 billion), Kumar Birla (9th, $9.2 billion) and Sunil Mittal & family (10th, $7.8 billion).