Forbes list of India’s 10 richest billionaires: Mukesh Ambani richest with $84.5 billion, Gautam Adani second

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani topped the Forbes list of India’s 10 richest billionaires with a net worth of $84.5 billion, followed by Adani Group chief Gautam Adani.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Ambani accomplished a fund-raising feat, garnering $35 billion through a string of deals to achieve his target of reducing his flagship Reliance Industries’ net debt to zero by 2021.

“He also sold a third of telecom unit Jio to marquee investors such as Facebook and Google and offloaded 10 per cent of Reliance Retail to private equity firms such as KKR and General Atlantic, plus concluded a $7.3 billion rights issue of Reliance shares,” Forbes said.

Second richest Indian, Adani, who has also diversified the group’s business and has taken a significant share in India’s airport management and operations business has a net worth of $50.5 billion.

Adani acquired a 74 per cent stake in Mumbai International Airport, the country’s second-busiest, last September. He also sold 20 per cent in his listed renewables firm, Adani Green Energy, to French energy giant Total for $2.5 billion.

The third richest Indian is HCL founder Shiv Nadar as per the Forbes list of India’s 10 Richest Billionaires 2021, with a net worth of $23.5 billion.

Last July, Nadar stepped down as chairman of $9.9 billion (revenues) HCL Technologies, handing over the position to his daughter, Roshni Nadar Malhotra.

Avenue Supermarts’ founder Radhakishan Damani ($16.5 billion) and Kotak Mahindra Bank MD Uday Kotak ($15.9 billion) took the fourth and the fifth spot in the list.