Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the 36th-annual ranking of billionaires across the world had several Indians on the Forbes’ list including eight Keralites.
The chairperson of Reliance Industries, Ambani, retained his position as Asia’s richest person and the tenth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $90.7 billion.
Following Ambani, Asia’s second-richest person is Gautam Adani with a net worth of $90 billion. He’s ranked number 11 in the world.
The founder of HCL Technologies Limited, Nadar, is India’s third-richest person and increased his wealth by 22 per cent, accounting for a net worth of $28.7 billion. He’s ranked number 47 in the world.
Meanwhile, eight Malayalis claimed their position on the Forbes’ Billionaire List for 2022. LuLu Group Chairman M A Yusuff Ali tops the list among Malayalis and is in the 490th position on the list. He has a net worth of $5.4 billion.
The other Malayalis on the list include Kris Gopalakrishnan ($4.1 billion), Byju Raveendran ($3.6 billion), Ravi Pillai ($2.6 billion), S D Shibulal ($2.2 billion), Sunny Varkey ($2.1 billion), Joy Alukkas ($1.9 billion), and Muthoot family’s George Alexander Muthoot, George Jacob Muthoot, George Thomas Muthoot, Sara George Muthoot ($4.1 billion).
The number of billionaires in India rose from 140 last year to a record high of 166, the Forbes report said.
The other Indian billionaires include Cyrus Poonawalla, whose Serum Institute of India (SII) was at the forefront of producing jabs against COVID-19, was placed fourth with an estimated net worth of $24.3 billion. Radhakishan Damani who set up Avenue Supermarkets that operates D-Marts across the country ranked 81 in the world with a new worth of $20 billion. Chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel and mining output company, Lakshmi Mittal has a net worth of $17.9 billion and is ranked 89 in the world.
OP Jindal Group matriarch Savitri Jindal ($17.7 billion) was ranked seventh, Aditya Birla Group chief Kumar Birla ($16.5 billion) eighth, Sun Pharmaceuticals head Dilip Shanghvi ($15.6 billion) ninth and Kotak Mahindra Bank MD Uday Kotak ($14.3 billion) tenth.