Top 30 Richest People in India (2026) – Net Worth, Source of Wealth & Rankings

India’s 21st century is one of the most fabulous stories of wealth that has never been recorded. The nation is now the third largest billionaire hotspot in the world after the USA and China, and it is projected to become the largest by 2026. India has 229 billionaires as per the Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2026 and 308 billionaires — 24 more than last year, as per the Hurun Global Rich List 2026. 

The Richest People in India are an incredible mix of industries and backgrounds, from the petrochemical empires and its infrastructure giants to a self-made tech entrepreneur and a pharma pioneer. They exemplify the promise of India’s booming economy as well as the nation’s rising aspirations in the international arena. The list of Top 30 Richest People in India 2026, compiled by Forbes & Hurun, provides a comprehensive overview of the individuals’ net worth, source of wealth, YoY changes, and other details.

India’s Billionaire Landscape in 2026: Key Statistics

• India is the third country in the world with the highest number of billionaires, after the United States and China. 
• 26 Indians made their debut in the Forbes World’s Billionaires List this year and a total of 229 Indian billionaires are listed on Forbes 2026. 
• Indian billionaires have increased by 24 to 308 in the Hurun 2026 list. 
• India’s top billionaires’ net worth comes to about $1 trillion. 
• Mumbai continues to be India’s billionaire capital with 451 of the nation’s wealthiest people calling it home. 
• Aravind Srinivas (31) of AI startup Perplexity AI is India’s youngest billionaire in 2026. 
• Savitri Jindal stayed India’s third-richest person and the richest woman of the country to grace the list of 20 Indian women billionaires. 
• The top three industries based on revenue are diversified conglomerates, Pharma, Technology, Infrastructure, and Retail.
• Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani are the 2nd and 4th richest in Asia, respectively.

Sector-Wise Comparison Table (India’s Top Billionaires)

1. Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani is currently the richest person in India, the undisputed King of Indian business. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of the $200B+ Reliance Industries, which includes oil refining, petrochemical, retail (Reliance Retail) and telecom (Jio) businesses. With his leadership, the internet scenario in India got completely disrupted. Ambani’s net worth in 2026 is $99.7B, making him one of the planet’s wealthiest individuals.

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2. Gautam Adani

Made a fortune in the ports-to-power business, Gautam Adani is a first-generation billionaire. He began his career as a commodity trader in Ahmedabad and later diversified into airports, green energy, data centers, and defence sectors. The Adani Group bounced back strongly after the Hindenburg short-selling report in 2023. Today, Gautam Adani ranks among the top richest people in India and remains one of Asia’s most influential infrastructure tycoons, with a net worth of $63.8 billion.

3. Savitri Jindal

Savitri Jindal is an emeritus chairperson of India’s largest steel & power conglomerate O.P. Jindal Group, and is the richest woman in India. She succeeded the group since the demise of her husband O.P. Jindal in 2005. With her leading the way the group has expanded to become a global capability in steel, cement, power and infrastructure industries. With her net worth of $39.1B, she is definitely among India’s top three billionaires.

4. Lakshmi Mittal

Lakshmi Mittal is widely known as the world’s steel emperor. Born in Rajasthan, India, he transformed a small family-owned steel business into ArcelorMittal — the world’s largest steel manufacturing company — with operations spanning Europe, America, and Africa. Known for his exceptional deal-making skills, Mittal successfully turned struggling steel plants into profitable global enterprises. Today, he ranks among the richest people in India and is regarded as one of the most influential industrialists of his generation, with an estimated net worth of $31 billion in 2026.

5. Shiv Nadar

Shiv Nadar is a visionary, founder of HCL Technologies, India’s largest IT services firm. He began in a small garage in Delhi, in 1976, and grew HCL to being a world-class global technology firm with revenues of over $17B across 60+ countries. Nadar is a passionate philanthropist, who has also established Shiv Nadar University and SSN institutions. He is known as one of the greatest technology pioneers and institution builders in India with net worth of Rs. 30.9B.

6. Cyrus Poonawalla

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cyrus Poonawalla’s company, Serum Institute of India, manufactured billions of doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, putting his name on the international radar.Cyrus Poonawalla’s company, Serum Institute of India, has manufactured billions of doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic, making his name a household name. Poonawalla has saved millions of lives in developing countries as he is the Chairman of the world’s largest vaccine maker by volume.

7. Dilip Shanghvi

Dilip Shanghvi is the founder of the self-made Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, which is India’s largest and the fourth biggest specialty generic pharmaceutical company in the world. In 1983, he began his journey with Rs. 10,000 and five products with the name of Sun Pharma. He has grown the company organically and made some bold acquisitions such as Ranbaxy to create a global powerhouse in generics. Shanghvi’s net worth of $25.6B makes for an inspiring rags-to-riches story, and a living legend among India’s start-up community.

8. Kumar Mangalam Birla

Kumar Mangalam Birla represents the fourth generation of the legendary Aditya Birla Group, one of the oldest and most diversified business conglomerates in the country. He took charge of the company at just 28 years old after the sudden demise of his father and successfully expanded the group across sectors including cement (UltraTech), metals (Hindalco), telecom (Vi), and fashion retail. With business operations spread across 36 countries, Birla has firmly secured his place among the richest people in India, with an estimated net worth of $21.1 billion in 2026.

9. Radhakishan Damani

Noted billionaire Radhakishan Damani is the reclusive owner of DMart, which is India’s most profitable retail chain. Prior to retailing, he was a genius stock market investor and also considered as mentor of the legendary Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. His focus on everyday low prices and efficiency has shaped his retail model, which has been hard for others to copy, with the creation of Avenue Supermarts. At $15.7B net worth, Damani is testament to the power of quiet brilliance to build lasting wealth.

10. Uday Kotak

Asia’s richest banker, Uday Kotak is the founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank, one of India’s best and most profitable private sector banks. His company began its operations in financial services in 1985 from Rs 3 lakh, and became a full-service financial services powerhouse. Kotak has consistently been seen as a level-headed and conservative risk taker who has sailed through each financial crisis with ease. The fact that his net worth in 2026 is $14.4B is a testament to his decades of disciplined and compounding wealth creation.

11. Sunil Bharti Mittal

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the telecom visionary who helped make mobile connectivity accessible to hundreds of millions of Indians. He is the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, the company behind Airtel — one of India’s largest telecom operators and a major telecom player across Africa. Mittal started his entrepreneurial journey by importing bicycle components before making a game-changing shift into the telecom industry, a move that transformed him into one of the top richest people in India. With an estimated net worth of around $12 billion, he continues to play a major role in India’s digital and connectivity revolution.

12. Kushal Pal Singh

KP Singh or Kushal Pal Singh is the modern Gurgaon architect. He was the Chairman of DLF Limited, India’s biggest real estate developer and made the barren agricultural land of the outskirts of Delhi a glittering Millennium City of offices, malls and residences. His vision and ideas changed the face of Indian cities and gave birth to an altogether new model of planned real-estate development. Singh’s net worth is ~$10 Billion, making him the undisputed real estate king of India.

13. Shapoor Mistry

Shapoor Mistry is the CEO of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, one of India’s most iconic and oldest construction and engineering groups that have been in business since 150+ years. The group has completed ground-breaking projects such as the Oberoi Hotels, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) building and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Tata Sons also has an 18.4% stake in the hands of the family. Mistry has a net worth of ~$9B and he is a romantic jewel of old world industrial India.

14. Azim Premji

Azim Premji is one of the most respected business leaders and indeed he is one of India’s biggest philanthropists. He took a cooking oil business to become a global IT major as he was the former Chairman of Wipro. But his most remarkable act was donating more than USD 21 billion via the Azim Premji Foundation, one of the biggest philanthropic pledges in history. Premji, with a net worth of ~$8.5B, is a true great man, not only for his ability to create wealth, but also for his ability to give it away meaningfully.

15. Harsh Goenka

Harsh Goenka is the Chairman of RPG Enterprises, a diversified business group with interests in power distribution (CESC), tyres (CEAT), IT services (Zensar Technologies), and infrastructure. Known for both his sharp business acumen and strong social media presence, Goenka has emerged as one of the most modern and influential industrialists among India’s traditional business families. With an estimated net worth of around $4.5 billion, he represents the successful transformation of old-economy business houses into globally relevant enterprises, earning his place among the richest people in India.

16. Nandan Nilekani

Nandan Nilekani is the brilliant technocrat and co-founder of Infosys who designed India’s Aadhaar biometric identity system, one of the biggest digital public infrastructure projects ever, in history. Previously, he was appointed as Chairman of UIDAI, and later went back to Infosys in 2017 as Non-Executive Chairman. Nilekani has been contributing to the Indian digital economy to the extent of his contribution is greater than his wealth which stands at ~$4.2B and it has benefitted more than a billion citizens of India.

17. Ravi Jaipuria

Ravi Jaipuria is the Chairman of RJ Corp. and India’s biggest beverage franchisee. He was the master franchiser of PepsiCo in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and in some African markets and has transformed Varun Beverages to one of the world’s largest Pepsi bottlers, which is now listed on the Indian stock exchanges. He also holds the brand of the Devyani International chain which has the license to operate KFC, Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee in India. His net worth is ~$4B and he is the king of India’s beverages industry.

18. Pankaj Patel

Pankaj Patel is the Chairman of Zydus Lifesciences (Cadila Healthcare) one of the leading 5 pharma companies of India based in Ahmedabad. His leadership has made Zydus a global pioneer in biosimilars and innovations in new drugs and India’s first indigenous DNA based COVID-19 vaccine – ZyCoV-D. Patel is among the most innovative and respected names in the pharmaceutical landscape of India today, with operations in 55+ countries and a net worth of ~$3.8B.

20. Karsanbhai Patel

Karsanbhai Patel is the legendary founder and the Surf of Nirma, the detergent brand that took the place of Hindustan Unilever and gained many hearts of the middle class Indians by selling its Surf at affordable prices. He was a true grass root entrepreneur, selling the detergent door to door on a bicycle in Ahmedabad since 1969. The Nirma Group has now expanded into the cement business (Nuvoco Vistas) and into the education sector. Patel is one of the biggest self-made entrepreneurial legends of India with a net worth of ~$3.5B.

21. Murali Divi

Murali Divi is the founder of Divi’s Laboratories, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and pharmaceutical intermediates. Based in Hyderabad, Divi’s Labs has become a critical part of the global medicine supply chain by providing essential raw materials to major international pharmaceutical companies. Known for maintaining exceptional quality standards and operational reliability, Murali Divi has built a globally respected pharmaceutical empire. With an estimated net worth of around $3.2 billion, he ranks among the richest people in India and symbolizes India’s growing dominance in global pharmaceutical manufacturing.

22. Radha Vembu

Radha Vembu is an India born tech entrepreneur, who is the richest self-made woman in India, and also a co-founder of Zoho Corporation, a global SaaS powerhouse with over 90 million users across the world. Unlike the majority of tech billionaires, she and her brother Sridhar Vembu have never taken in VC money or been listed on the stock exchange and have maintained the company completely private. Zoho is a Chennai based company that provides 55+ cloud business software. Vembu has a net worth of ~$3B and is a rare and inspirational icon in Indian tech entrepreneurship.

23. Byju Raveendran

Byju Raveendran is the founder of ‘BYJU’S’, which was formerly India’s most valuable edtech startup, with its peak valuation of $22 billion. But a massive cash scandal, regulatory investigation and investor wrangling resulted in an epic meltdown for the company. For an all-time favorite teacher, who went viral after coaching classes, Raveendran turned into a cautionary tale of startup hubris. Now worth less than $1B, BYJU’s restructuring makes his story one of India’s most dramatic corporate rises and falls.

24. Deepinder Goyal

Deepinder Goyal is the co-founder and CEO of Zomato (now named Eternal) India’s foremost food delivery and quick commerce platform. An initiative launched at Bain & Company with the aim of digitising the restaurant menu has grown into a multi-billion dollar tech company. Blinkit was a game-changer for Zomato, making it a leader in the India’s 10-minute delivery revolution. Goyal’s net worth is ~$2.5B and with his company’s shares on a surge, he is one of India’s most acclaimed new-age entrepreneurs today.

25. Falguni Nayar

Falguni Nayar is a renowned woman entrepreneur and the founder/CEO of Nykaa, the country’s most popular beauty and fashion e-commerce company. To her credit, she began Nykaa at the age of 50, having worked in a brilliant position as Managing Director, at Kotak Mahindra. Then, she became a billionaire overnight when Nykaa went public in 2021. Nayar has a net worth of ~$2.2B, which is quite a testament to entrepreneurship having no age limit, and to India’s female billionaires not being just a force to reckon with but also growing.

26. Ritesh Agarwal

Founder of OYO Rooms, the budget hospitality disruptor that spread to 80+ countries, Ritesh Agarwal is one of India’s youngest billionaire self-made billionaires. He is the first Asian to receive the Thiel Fellowship and he dropped out of college as a teenager to begin OYO. OYO has been through a re-engineering exercise and has stabilised after going on a global expansion spree, and is on the path to profitability. Agarwal is one of the most resilient and discussed young entrepreneurs in India with a net worth of ~$1.8B.

27. Harshil Mathur

Harshil Mathur is a co-founder, and CEO of the top payments infrastructure company and one of the most valuable fintech startups in India, Razorpay. He, along with his co-founder Shashank Kumar, has helped create the payment system infrastructure of more than 8 million businesses in India with Razorpay. The company has successfully diversified its business to neobanking, payroll and lending. Mathur, who is valued at ~$1.5B, and has peaked at $7.5B for the company, is one such important fintech builder among the Richest People in India.

28. Shashank Kumar

Shashank Kumar is the Co-founder of one of India’s most prominent B2B Fintech startup, Razorpay, along with Harshil Mathur. Kumar is a graduate of IIT Roorkee where he has been driving the technology and product vision at Razorpay, which helps power digital payments for millions of Indian businesses. The range of the company’s products covers payment gateways, current accounts, payroll and lending. Kumar currently has a net worth of ~$1.5B, and is a new generation of Indian tech-savvy founders creating key financial infrastructure for the digital economy.

29. Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Vijay Shekhar Sharma is one of the most colourful startup personalities in India and the founder of the most iconic digital payments company in India — Paytm. He transformed Paytm from a mobile recharge app into a super app that spans all aspects of payments, banking, insurance and wealth management. Its business received a huge setback in 2024 due to the strict action taken by the RBI against Paytm Payments Bank.

30. Bhavish Aggarwal

Bhavish Aggarwal is undoubtedly India’s most ambitious young entrepreneur. He is spearheading India’s electric vehicle revolution as co-founder of Ola and founder of Ola Electric, which is building scooters at a gigantic scale in Tamil Nadu. Since then, he has founded Krutrim, an Indian AI firm, putting India on the global AI map. Aggarwal’s net worth at ~$1.2B in 2026 makes him one of the most interesting Richest People in India to keep an eye on as he is keen on having a multi-front approach.

Source of Wealth: How India’s Richest Made Their Money

• Empires that grew and were inherited: Mukesh Ambani (Reliance), Kumar Birla (Aditya Birla), Savitri Jindal (O.P. Jindal Group)
• First Generation Industrialists : Gautam Adani, Dilip Shanghvi, Karsanbhai Patel – who created billion dollar empires from scratch by sheer ambition and execution.
• IT & Technology Pioneers: Shiv Nadar (HCL), Azim Premji (Wipro), Nandan Nilekani (Infosys) — were seen as riding the wave of the Indian IT boom that occurred from the 90s till the 2000s.
• Pharma & Healthcare Giants: Cyrus Poonawalla (Serum Institute), Dilip Shanghvi (Sun Pharma), Murali Divi (Divi’s Labs) – capitalised on the strength of generics in India and demand for vaccines worldwide.
• India’s digital consumer economy was built by the New-Age Startup Founders: Deepinder Goyal (Zomato), Bhavish Aggarwal (Ola Electric), Falguni Nayar (Nykaa), Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Paytm)
• Banking & Finance: Uday Kotak — founded a private banking empire from a bill discounting company.
• Real Estate: KP Singh (DLF) — changed agricultural land into the best premium real estate in India.

India’s Richest vs World’s Richest: How They Compare

Wealth Concentration in India: Is the Rich-Poor Gap Growing?

• The total fortune of all billionaires in India is about $1 trillion, in a nation with hundreds of millions of people living on less than the poverty line. 
• More than 40% of India’s billionaire wealth is held by its top 10 billionaires, reflecting the phenomenon of extreme concentration at the top.
• In the past year (2026), India saw the creation of 24 new billionaires, highlighting the rapid accumulation of wealth but also the issue of its distribution. 
• The Gini index in India has been on the decline—income inequity has been increasing at a greater rate in urban areas such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.
• According to tax data, only a small portion of the wealth of the top 1% in India is reported, further amplifying the reported tax burden discrepancy between the top 1% and the bottom 90%.
• But philanthropy is on the climb: Azim Premji has donated more than $21 billion, and lots of new age entrepreneurs are actively putting money into education, climate and public health.
• There are government initiatives like PM Kisan, Jan Dhan, direct benefit transfers which are trying to fill this gap, but structural reforms need to be done in taxation, education and healthcare.

Conclusion: India’s Billionaires — What 2026 Tells Us

For 2026, the Richest People in India are more than just rich people; they embody the aspirations, paradoxes, and potential of India. Both old-world dynasties and new generation disruptors are represented in this list from Mukesh Ambani’s $100B+ conglomerate to Bhavish Aggarwal’s electric vehicle dreams. India has now become a global powerhouse of billionaires with 208 (Hurun) and 229 (Forbes) billionaires. 

However, it is not merely about creating wealth, but re-investing in the well-being of India’s 1.4 billion people that will be the true litmus test for these titans. This is the story of the Richest People in India and it is essentially Indian and it is one of great resilience, innovation and an unrelenting drive to create something bigger. Be sure to keep an eye on this place – keep coming for more billionaires, more disruptions and more inspiring journeys over the next ten years.

FAQs

Who will be the wealthiest in India in 2026? 

The Richest Person in India in 2026 is Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries with a net worth of $99.7 Billion (According to Forbes). 

In 2026, there will be 20 billionaires in India. 

The number of Indian billionaires according to Hurun Global Rich List 2026 is 308 and according to Forbes’ World’s Billionaires List 2026 is 229. 

Gautam Adani’s net worth as of 2026 is estimated to be $15 billion. 

As per Forbes 2026, Gautam Adani is the second wealthiest person in India with a net worth of $63.8 billion. 

As per the reports, the richest woman in India 2026 is Kiran Mazilan. 

Savitri Jindal is the richest woman in India in 2026, also the emeritus chairman of O.P. Jindal Group, who have a total net worth of about $38.6 – 39.1 billion. 

Yes, the wealth of the Indian billionaires decreased in 2026. 

In total, India’s billionaires have become wealthier. On the other hand, the net worth of Mukesh Ambani jumped by 7.2% from 2025 to 2026, reaching $99.7B, while the total number of Indian billionaires grew by 24 year-on-year. But there was a significant drop in some individual fortunes such as Gautam Adani and Byju Raveendran’s on regulatory and business grounds.