Numbers Talk: Ambani 9th On Global List With $116 Bln, Adani Has $84 Bln
India-West News Desk
NEW YORK, NY – The World’s Billionaires list is a window into the economy, and especially the stock market,” says Forbes senior editor Chase Peterson-Withorn. “Tracking who’s up, down, in and out of ranks, shows which companies are on the top and which are faltering. It’s also an incredibly important piece of investigative reporting. The billionaire class is hugely wealthy, and hence hugely powerful — it’s crucial we know who they are and what they are doing with their vast fortunes.”
“There are now more billionaires than ever,” Forbes said while releasing the list of the richest, “2,781 in all, 141 more than last year and 26 more than the record set in 2021.” They are also the richest — “worth $14.2 trillion in aggregate, up by $2 trillion from 2023 and $1.1 trillion above the previous record, also set in 2021.”
The U.S. has a record 813 billionaires worth a combined $5.7 trillion, followed by China and India, which has 200 billionaires, which the magazine said is also a record.
At number 177 of the top 200 billionaires in the world is the Nevada-based Indian American Jay Chaudhry, CEO of Zscaler, with the cybersecurity firm that he established in 2008. The company made its public debut on the Nasdaq in March 2018. Chaudhry, along with his family, holds approximately 40% ownership of the Nasdaq-listed entity, Forbes said.
Prior to Zscaler, Chaudhry founded four other tech companies, all of which were eventually acquired: SecureIT, CoreHarbor, CipherTrust, and AirDefense. His entrepreneurial journey began in 1996 when he and his wife, Jyoti, took the bold step of quitting their jobs and utilizing their life savings to launch SecureIT, marking his inaugural startup venture.
Chaudhry’s upbringing in a village in the Himalayas, where access to electricity and running water was limited until later in his schooling years, instilled in him a strong sense of resilience and determination. He relocated to the United States in 1980 to pursue his education, eventually settling in Nevada after initially residing in the Bay Area.
Other Indian Americans on the list are airline veteran Rakesh Gangwal, Samaras co-founder Sanjit Biswas, GQG Partners founder, chairman and chief investment officer Rajiv Jain, Arista Networks president and CEO Jayshree Ullal, and Workday co-founder Aneel Bhusri.
Forbes said 25 new Indian billionaires made their debut. Among them are Naresh Trehan, a leading cardiac surgeon-turned-healthcare entrepreneur, who owns and runs the Medanta chain of hospitals in north India; Ramesh Kunhikannan, founder of Kaynes Technology, which supplied electronic systems for India’s moon mission in August that powered the rover and the lander; and Renuka Jagtiani, who oversees Middle East retailing giant Landmark Group. She inherited her fortune from her late husband Micky Jagtiani, Landmark’s founder, who died last year after a long illness. He was one of three Indian billionaires to die in the past 12 months. The others were: Keshub Mahindra, chairman emeritus of Mahindra & Mahindra, and Ashwin Dani of Asian Paints.
In an economy where the rich are getting richer, it is no surprise that among Indians, Mukesh Ambani who recently held an over-the-top “pre-wedding” celebration for his son, is the wealthiest, and is ranked as the ninth richest person globally. He chairs and runs Reliance Industries, a conglomerate with a staggering $116 billion in revenue. Reliance now spans petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom, retail, and financial services. He is now on the top ten list with the likes of Elon Musk, Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, and Warren Buffet.
Other Indians are the Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, HCL founder Shiv Nadar, and Serum Institute of India founder Cyrus Poonawalla. Adani, with the support of the current Indian government, leads a $84 billion revenue conglomerate with interests ranging from ports and airports to green energy. Vinod Adani, his brother, who lives in Cyprus, holds significant stakes in Adani Group companies and also figures on the list.
Nadar is now retired with his daughter, Roshni Nadar Malhotra at the helm. They have given over $1.1 billion through the Shiv Nadar Foundation, for education and other poverty alleviation programs in India.
Beyond India, notable billionaires include Pakistani American businessman Shahid Khan, owner of auto parts supplier Flex-N-Gate and the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
On the richest Indian list are figures like Kumar Birla, real estate developer Kushal Pal Singh, and Sun Pharmaceuticals founder Dilip Shanghvi. Savitri Jindal is the richest Indian woman and the fourth richest Indian with $33.5 billion, Mumbai investor Radhakishan Damani, ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal with $16.4 billion, India’s cola king, Ravi Jaipuria, Kotak Mahindra Bank founder Uday Kotak, and Wipro founder Azim Premji. Meanwhile, Firoz and Zahan Mistry, sons of the late Cyrus Mistry who tragically died in a car crash, are under 30 billionaires, inheriting stakes in Tata Sons, the Indian conglomerate.
