New Delhi, March 26: Mumbai has surpassed Beijing to emerge as Asia’s new billionaire capital while India has overtaken Germany to become the third-ranked country globally with 271 billionaires, according to the latest Hurun Research Institute report.
“Mumbai was the fastest-growing billionaire capital in the world, adding 26 in the year and taking it to third in the world and Asia’s billionaire capital. New Delhi broke into the Top 10 for the first time,” the report states.
Collectively, the wealth of Indian billionaires amounts to a phenomenal $1 trillion, accounting for 7 per cent of the global billionaire wealth, reflecting the country’s substantial economic influence.
The rise of startups, particularly in the booming Artificial Intelligence (AI) space, is a significant contributor as well. This trend aligns with the global focus on AI, which emerged as the biggest driver of wealth creation, generating over half of all new wealth this year.
With a young, tech-savvy population and a growing focus on innovation, India is well-positioned to capitalise on this AI revolution, potentially fuelling the creation of even more billionaires in the coming years, the report added.
Leading the Indian billionaire list is Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, with a staggering net worth of $115 billion. Closely following is Gautam Adani, the founder of the Adani Group energy conglomerate, with assets valued at $86 billion, marking a $33 billion surge in wealth attributed to a rally in his companies’ shares.
While India’s billionaire population soared, China witnessed a decline, with the report stating, “China had a bad year. HK was down 20 per cent, Shenzhen down 19 per cent, and Shanghai down 7 per cent.”
This downturn can be attributed to the crisis in the country’s real estate and volatile stock market problems in the renewable energy sectors.
