According to Forbes’ ranking of the 100 richest Indians in 2021, the fortunes of India’s richest have increased by 50% during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A booming stock market, strong levels of liquidity, and demand for cutting-edge digital services aided India’s wealthiest in cashing in during the pandemic, even as millions went hungry. The combined wealth of the 100 richest Indians on the Forbes 2021 list surged to a record $775 billion after — a $257 billion or 50% increase over the previous year.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), has held the top spot on the Forbes India rich list for the 14th year in a row, with a net worth of $92.7 billion.
According to the ranking, Ambani’s net worth increased by $4 billion over this time. Reliance’s continuous stock market growth can be attributed to advances in the telecom, digital, and retail companies, which have increased his wealth.
With a net worth of $74.8 billion, Gautam Adani has kept second place for the third year in a row. According to Forbes, the infrastructure tycoon was responsible for over a fifth of the increase in the wealth of India’s wealthiest.
Adani’s fortunes virtually tripled in the last year, to $74.8 billion from $25.2 billion, as shares in all of his publicly traded companies skyrocketed.
