India has the third highest number of billionaires in the world after the US and China, according to a new list by the prestigious 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. 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. 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 USD 84.5 billion.
Ambani has become the richest person in Asia, ranked Number 10 and worth an estimated USD 84.5 billion. He nudged out Jack Ma of China, Asia’s richest person a year ago, whose rank dropped to 26 (from 17 last year) despite a nearly USD 10 billion jump in his fortune to USD 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 USD 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 USD 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 USD 23.5 billion. 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 USD 4.7 trillion, while the US billionaires are worth a total USD 4.4 trillion.