The market had been going down a spiral ever since the first lockdown in March, 2020. The Indian economy and the business market hit record lows as the whole country was shut down for over 4 months. But since the lockdown lifted, fortunately, stocks have seen a rise and things are beginning to look up, economy wise.
But surprisingly there have been 7 billionaires who have seen a massive $64 billion jump in their fortunes through this chaotic year. The combined wealth of these 7 billionaires was near the $200 billion mark (at $194.39 billion) on Friday, December 11, after rising a strong 50 per cent so far this year, data compiled from the Bloomberg Billionaire Index showed.
Let's have a look at these seven billionaires :
Gautam Adani :
Chairman and founder of Adani Group, Gautam Adani, a billionaire industrialist, had his net worth grow the most this year. Shares of most of his firms surged, including those of his mining, port and gas units adding $21.1 billion to Adani’s net worth. His company, Adani Green Energy Ltd. grew more than sixfold this year, receiving a record $6 billion solar-power deal. His net worth stands at $32.4 billion, making him the second richest man of India.
Mukesh Ambani :
The richest man of India, owning the country's most valued company, Reliance Industries has added $18.1 billion to his net worth, leading up to a total of a whopping $76.7 billion. Even though Ambani owns six different companies, the most of his fortunes come from Reliance, covering oil, gas, telecom and retail sectors, which observed a surge of 33% since last year, building up it's net worth to $13.56 lakh crore.
Shiv Nadar :
Indian billionaire industrialist and philanthropist, Shiv Nadar, is also the founder and chairman of HCL industries, which is India's third largest IT exporter growing by 52% this year alone. His fortunes stood at $22 billion, soaring by $6.29 billion in 2020. Nadar, who has been awarded Padm Bhushan for his contribution to the IT industry, is also the third richest man of India in 2020, according to his net worth.
Cyrus Poonawala :
The vaccine king of India, Cyrus Poonawala is the chairman of Poonawala Group, also including Serum Institute of India, which is leading the Covid-19 vaccine battle of the country. As Serum Institute became the world's largest vaccine producer, it made Cyrus' net worth soar to $15.6 billion in 2020 from $6.91 billion. His wealth grew 5th highest in the world, also making him enter the Top 100 rich list in the world and the Top 10 billionaires list in the whole country.
Azim Premji :
Czar of the Indian IT industry, Azim Premji, a business tycoon, engineer and investor, is the founding chairman of Wipro Limited and still remains a non-executive member of the board. He saw his wealth grow by $5.26 billion, leading up to a total net worth of $23.6 billion as Wipro grew by 43.82% this year as share prices surged high. Premji is also the founder of Azim Premji Foundation, a non-profit organization and most of his wealth goes to the foundation in the form of charity.
Radhakishan Damani :
Indian billionaire investor and businessman, Radhakishan Damani, is founder of an Indian chain of hypermarkets, DMart. His net worth built upto $14.4 billion in 2020, by a margin of $4.71 billion as he also manages his portfolio through his investment firm, Bright Star Investments Ltd. Ace investment veteran's DMart rallied 40.7% this year.
Dilip Shanghvi :
One of the country's richest people and founder of Sun Pharmaceuticals, Dilip Shanghvi's net worth stands at $9.69 billion, growing by $2.23 billion. Sun Pharmaceuticals, the largest drug company in India, grew by 31% this year and is currently about to reach a 52-week high as it rallies closer to 6% with its share prices rising.
