Mumbai pips Beijing as home to maximum number of billionaires: Hurun's global rich list
Mumbai, Mar 26 (PTI) India's financial capital Mumbai has emerged as the home to the maximum number of billionaires, surpassing Beijing, a report said on Tuesday.
According to the Hurun Global Rich List, Mumbai is home to a total of 92 billionaires as against 91 in Beijing.
India is home to 271 billionaires as against 814 in China, the Hurun list said.
The global rich list has come days after a report flagged concerns on rising inequality in India.
As per a paper titled "Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: The Rise of the Billionaire Raj", the top one per cent population in India owned 40 per cent of the wealth in 2023 as against 22.6 per cent in early 2000.
The Hurun report said, Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani retained his position as the richest Indian with a fortune of USD 115 billion. Ambani added 40 per cent or USD 33 billion to his wealth in the last year.
Gautam Adani, whose fortunes took a battering after a short seller report alleging biggest scam in corporate history, was able to recoup some losses and added 62 per cent to his net-worth in the last year, the report said.
Globally, Ambani is the tenth richest on the list led by Elon Musk with a fortune of USD 231 billion. Adani ranked 15th on the global list, it said.
The cumulative wealth of Indian billionaires stood at USD 1 trillion.
India has been growing at over 7 per cent annually to earn the tag as the fastest growing major economy in the world, while China's growth has slowed down with a slew of challenges being faced in sectors such as real estate.
This has resulted in high inflows of wealth into the Indian markets by the foreign investors, which resulted in higher valuations, and a consequent increase in individual net worths.
India also beat China in new billionaire additions during the year, with 94 new names in the coveted list while in China, the same stood at 55 entrants, the report said.
Mumbai, the financial capital, added 27 billionaires over the last year as compared to just six in Beijing, it said.
The report termed Mumbai as a "wealth hub", pointing out that the wealth owned by those in the maximum city shot up by 47 per cent as against 28 per cent decline in Beijing.
Only 24 Indian billionaires saw a dip in their net-worth during the year, as against 573 Chinese billionaires showing a decline in their fortunes during the year, the report said.
India's cumulative wealth has grown 51 per cent in the last year, defying global economic challenges, the report said. PTI AA SGC HVA
