Mumbai overtakes Beijing as Asia's Billionaire capital, says report

Mumbai: India's financial capital Mumbai has emerged as Asia's new billionaire capital, surpassing Beijing, according to the latest Hurun Research Institute report released on Tuesday.

The report, titled ‘360 ONE Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2023’ said Mumbai now boasted of 92 billionaires, overtaking Beijing’s count and solidifying its status as a thriving centre for wealth creation.

As per the Hurun report, Mumbai registered a net increase of 14 individuals followed by Hyderabad which registered a net increase of 23.

India added 94 new billionaires in 2023, taking the country’s total to 271, and form a cohort that has a combined wealth of $1 trillion. On the other hand China added 55 new entrants.

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is the only Indian to rank in the top 10 names in the ‘2024 Hurun Global Rich List’, a ranking of US dollar billionaires. Ambani, 66, is placed 10th, dropping one rank despite his wealth rising 40 per cent to $115 billion in the period the report tracked.

Ambani is Asia’s richest person. Closely following is Gautam Adani, founder of the Adani Group energy conglomerate, with

assets valued at $86 billion, marking a $33 billion surge in wealth attributed to a rally in his companies' shares.

Mumbai is the preferred city for India’s biggest wealth creators as it accommodates 25 per cent of the entrants in the list followed by New Delhi and Bengaluru.

With 391 and 199 entrants respectively, Maharashtra and Delhi are the preferred states of residence for individuals in 360 ONE Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2023.

The report highlighted the dominance of specific industries in contributing to India’s billionaire boom, with the pharmaceutical sector leading the pack with 39 billionaires, followed by the automobile and auto components industry (27), and the chemicals sector (24).

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, 52, topped the global billionaire list with a total wealth of $231 billion. He was followed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 60, who has a net worth of $185 billion. Pop superstar Taylor Swift, 34, joined the billionaire club with wealth valued at 1.2 billion, not from typical celebrity side hustles but through her music.