India minted a new billionaire every five days last year: Hurun

India minted a new billionaire every five days last year with the count of dollar billionaires in the country hitting 334, up 29% from a year ago, the Hurun India rich list released on Thursday showed.

Adani group chairman Gautam Adani and family saw their wealth surge 95% to Rs11.6 trillion to top the 2024 Hurun India Rich list.

Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani slid to the second spot on the list with a net worth of ₹10.1 trillion.

The number of individuals, or those who are worth Rs1,000 crore and more, in the Hurun rich list crossed the 1,500-mark for the first time since the list debuted 13 years ago.

The wealth calculations are a snapshot as of 31 July 2024.

“India continues to score gold in the ‘Wealth Creation Olympics’. The number of billionaires in the 2024 Hurun India Rich List hit a triple century, with all the top 20 sectors adding new faces,” Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher at Hurun India, said.

“India is emerging as Asia’s wealth creation engine! While China saw a 25% decline in the number of billionaires, India saw a 29% increase. For the first time, the Hurun India Rich List features 1,539 entrants, showcasing a diverse range of wealth creators—from family-run businesses and startup founders to private equity investors, angel investors, next-generation leaders, film stars, and more,” Junaid said.

Actor Shah Rukha Khan broke into the list for the first time with a wealth of Rs7,300 crore, “fuelled by his stakes in Kolkata Knight Riders and Red Chillies Entertainment.”

Juhi Chawla and family, Hrithik Roshan, Karan Johar and Amitabh Bachchan are the other actors who have entered the list this year.

Mumbai took the prime place with 386 residents on the Hurun India rich list, followed by New Delhi with 217 billionaires.

Hyderabad, which added 17 new billionaires, took the third place with 104 billionaires, surging past Bengaluru, which had 100, for the first time.

While real estate and industrial products added the most significant number of new entrants to the list, the latter is still the No.1, and has contributed 142 entrants to the list.

“The industrial products sector entrepreneurs on the list have seen a remarkable 47% compound annual growth (CAGR) in their cumulative wealth over the past five years—the highest among all sectors. This shift is fueled by several key factors, including the central government’s significant increase in capital expenditure on infrastructure development, which has risen to $133.3 billion for FY25, marking an 11.1% jump from the previous year,” Junaid said.