India has world's 3rd highest number of billionaires; Mukesh Ambani dethrones Jack Ma in Asia: Forbes

Amazon CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos for the fourth year in a row topped the Forbes world billionaire list for the fourth year in a row

India has the third-highest number of billionaires in the world after the US and China, according to a new list by Forbes magazine, which said Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani reclaimed his spot as Asia’s richest person, dethroning Chinese business tycoon Jack Ma who was the richest person in the region a year ago.

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Forbes’ 35th annual list of the world’s billionaires is topped by Amazon CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos for the fourth year in a row.

His net worth is $177 billion, up by $64 billion from a year ago as a result of surging Amazon shares, Forbes said.

On the second spot is SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who was the biggest gainer in dollar terms. Musk’s fortune ballooned to $151 billion, a whopping $126.4 billion more than a year ago, when he had ranked 31 and was worth $24.6 billion, it said.

“The main reason: a 705 per cent climb in Tesla shares,” Forbes said.

Ambani, the richest person in India and also the wealthiest in Asia, is ranked 10 on the global billionaires’ list. He reclaimed his spot as Asia’s richest person with a net worth of $84.5 billion.

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Ambani “has become the richest person in Asia, ranked Number 10 and worth an estimated $84.5 billion. He nudges out Jack Ma of China, Asia’s richest person a year ago, whose rank dropped to 26 (from 17 last year) despite a nearly $10 billion jump in his fortune to $48.4 billion,” Forbes said.

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, the second richest person in India, is ranked 24th on the global list of billionaires with a net worth of $50.5 billion.

Chairman of the Poonawalla Group and founder of the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, Cyrus Poonawalla is ranked 169th on the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires with a net worth of $12.7 billion.

Poonawalla ranks seven on the list of Indian billionaires. Founder of HCL Technologies Shiv Nadar, the third richest person in India, is ranked 71st globally and has a net worth of $23.5 billion.

“The three richest Indians alone have added just over $100 billion between them,” Forbes said.

At 724, the US has more billionaires than any other country in the world (up from 614 last year). China is “closing the gap” with 698 billionaires, up from 456 last year.

“As a result of the gains in China, Beijing is home to more billionaires than anywhere in the world, overtaking New York City,” Forbes said.

India has the third-highest number of billionaires, with 140, followed by Germany with 136 and Russia with 117.

Forbes said the 1,149 billionaires from Asia-Pacific countries together are worth $4.7 trillion, while the US billionaires are worth a total $4.4 trillion.

On the global list, 106 are under 40. The youngest billionaire is 18-year-old Kevin David Lehmann of Germany, whose father Guenther Lehmann transferred his stake in drugstore chain dm-drogerie market to him. His worth is $3.3 billion and ranks 925 on the list, while the oldest billionaire is 99-year old US insurance tycoon George Joseph, it said.

The number of billionaires on Forbes’ 35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented 2,755 -- 660 more than a year ago, altogether worth $13.1 trillion, it said.

There are a record-high 493 newcomers to the list, “roughly one new billionaire every 17 hours, including 210 from China and Hong Kong and 98 from the US”

French billionaire Bernard Arnault, who oversees an empire of 70 brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora, is the third richest person in the world with a net worth of $150 billion, followed by the chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates ($124 billion), Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg ($97 billion).

The top 10 richest are worth $1.15 trillion, up by two-thirds from $686 billion last year. Altogether, Europe’s billionaires are $1 trillion richer than a year ago.

The richest woman this year is cosmetics heir Francoise Bettencourt Meyers of France, who with a net worth of $73.6 billion is ranked 12th.

India’s top 10 billionaires include DMart founder Radhakishan Damani, Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Uday Kotak, Executive Chairman of ArcelorMittal Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group Kumar Mangalam Birla, founder of Sun Pharmaceuticals Dilip Shanghvi and Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises Sunil Mittal.