Mukesh Ambani has secured his place as Asia’s wealthiest individual again according to Forbes’ Billionaire 2029 list. Ambani, the 65-year-old oil-to-telecom behemoth that transformed India’s Reliance Industries into a USD 100 billion entity, regained the continent’s premier spot after Gautam Adani tumbled to No. 24. Ambani’s current net worth is USD 83.4 billion.
Adani had been the world’s third-richest person in January, with a net worth of almost USD 126 billion. That position was shaken when US short-seller Hindenburg Research released a dubious report on the Adani group, sending shares plummeting across their organisations, including his Adani Group, Adani Enterprises, Adani Power and Adani Ports & SEZ. Consequently, Adani’s net worth slid to USD 47.2 billion and he was relegated to India’s second wealthiest individual behind Ambani.
The combined net worth of the 25 wealthiest humans on the planet is USD 2.1 trillion, an USD 200 billion dip from USD 2.3 trillion from the 2021 list. Of these billionaire, two-thirds are poorer than they were a year ago while Jeff Bezos’ fortune faced a USD 57 billion plummet as Amazon’s stocks fell 38%. Following behind Bezos, Elon Musk become the year’s second biggest economic casualty, his net worth diminishing by USD 39 billion, causing him to lose his title as the world’s most affluent individual. Bernard Arnault, the French luxury goods tycoon, assumed top place on the list thanks to a banner year at the LVMH empire owning Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Tiffany & Co..
Indian billionaires, on the other hand, dropped a collective 10% in wealth to USD 675 billion. This major falloff was largely due to increased fraud allegations from Hindenburg Research which supported a heavy slump from The Adani Group’s stocks. However, despite the downtick, 169 Indians still remain on the list, up three from 2021’s 166.
Software magnate Shiv Nadar saw his wealth drop 11% year-on-year to USD 25.6 billion; however, this was enough to retain his position as India’s third wealthiest. Billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla endured the most prominent drop of the four, 7%, although with his current net worth of USD 22.6 billion, he nonetheless remains the country’s fourth richest person.
Two brothers, Nikhil Kamath and Nithin Kamath, enter the list this year as the youngest billionaires of India. The 36-year-old Cofounders of discount brokerage Zerodha are now collectively worth USD 3.8 billion with Nikhil valued at USD 1.1 billion and Nithin at USD 2.7 billion. Keshub Mahindra returns to the rankings after a year’s lapse, the vast majority shareholder of Mahindra & Mahindra corporation at a total net worth of USD 1.2 billion.
At the conclusion of the day, Forbes’ 2029 edition of the World’s Billionaires features a wealth of interesting data about individuals’ fortunes, rags-to-riches stories, and business tycoons whose innovative acumen has left a mark on history. It should also be noted, however, that as the fortunes of these billionaires change, so does the wealth of billions of individuals and, more importantly, the underlying human condition of the world.
