Mukesh Ambani Reclaims Title as Asia’s Richest Person: Forbes Announces Youngest, Oldest, and New Billionaires

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has reclaimed his position as Asia’s richest person after rival Gautam Adani slipped to number 24, Forbes said in its Billionaires 2023 list released on Tuesday (April 4).

At 65 years of age, Ambani boasts a net worth of $83.4 billion, placing him among the top ten billionaires in the world, with Bernard Arnault of LVMH holding the top spot.

Mukesh Ambani

Indian businessman

Born: 19 April 1957 (age 65 years), Aden, Yemen
Net worth: 8,360 crores USD (2023) Forbes
Children: Anant Ambani, Akash Ambani, Isha Ambani
Spouse: Nita Ambani (m. 1985)
Siblings: Anil Ambani, Nina Kothari, Deepti Salgaocar
Height: 1.69 m

Mukesh Ambani was ranked 10th in the prestigious list last year, with an estimated net worth of $90.7 billion. However, in the latest list, Ambani has surpassed several notable names, such as Steve Ballmer of Microsoft, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, and Michael Dell of Dell Technologies.

Forbes noted that Gautam Adani, who was ranked third on the list in January with a net worth of nearly $126 billion, has tumbled to No. 24. Forbes attributed this to a report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research, which was released on January 24 and resulted in Adani’s company shares plummeting. His net worth has now fallen to $47.2 billion, making him the second richest Indian after Ambani.

Ambani’s company, Reliance Industries, became the first Indian company to surpass $100 billion in revenue last year, according to Forbes. The publication also noted that Ambani’s children now have key roles in the company, with Akash as the chairman of telecom arm Jio Infocomm, Isha as the head of the retail business, and Anant working in Reliance’s new energy ventures.

The total net worth of the 25 richest people in the world, according to Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list, is now $2.1 trillion, which is down by a combined $200 billion from $2.3 trillion in 2022. Two-thirds of the top 25 are reportedly poorer than they were last year.

Jeff Bezos was the biggest loser, falling from No. 2 in the world in 2022 to No. 3 this year, as Amazon shares crashed by 38 percent. Elon Musk, who lost his title of the world’s richest person after Twitter deal, is now ranked No. 2, with a net worth of $180 billion.

French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault topped the list for the first time this year, with a net worth of $211 billion, thanks to a banner year at LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Tiffany & Co. Musk is followed by Jeff Bezos, who has a net worth of $114 billion.

Forbes stated that there are a record number of Indians on its 2023 list of the World’s Billionaires, with 169 individuals, up from 166 last year. However, their combined wealth has decreased by 10 percent to $675 billion, down from $750 billion on the 2022 list. This decline is primarily due to the stock rout of companies in the Adani Group following a January report of fraud allegations by short-seller Hindenburg Research.

Gautam Adani, the infrastructure and commodities tycoon, who was briefly the world’s second-richest person last September and was the world’s third-richest person for most of January, has slipped to No. 24 globally and is now India’s second-wealthiest citizen. Adani’s elder brother Vinod, estimated to be worth nearly $10 billion, is not counted as an Indian billionaire due to his Cyprus passport.

Several notable Indian billionaires are also included in the list, with Shiv Nadar, a software magnate, being the country’s third-richest person.

India’s vaccine tycoon Cyrus Poonawalla, who owns the privately held vaccine giant Serum Institute of India and listed financial services firm Poonawalla Fincorp, maintained his position as the fourth wealthiest person in the country, despite the waning demand for Covid-19 vaccines. However, his net worth has decreased by 7% from the previous year, and it now stands at $22.6 billion.

At No. 5, Lakshmi Mittal, the steel tycoon, was followed by Savitri Jindal, the matriarch of the OP Jindal Group, Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharma, and Radhakishan Damani, whose retail chain DMart is owned by Avenue Supermarts.

Nikhil Kamath, the co-founder of Zerodha, a discount brokerage firm, is the youngest Indian billionaire on the Forbes 2023 list at the age of 36. Nikhil’s older brother, Nithin Kamath, is also a newcomer on the list and has a net worth of $2.7 billion. The Bengaluru-based siblings’ combined net worth is $3.8 billion.

Kumar Birla is ranked at No. 9 and Uday Kotak at No. 10 in the country.

Keshub Mahindra, the chairman emeritus of Mahindra & Mahindra, returned to the list this year at the age of 99, making him the oldest Indian billionaire. His net worth is $1.2 billion. Four people returned to the list this year after previously falling off, while 23 people from last year’s list didn’t make the cut this time. Anil Agarwal, a meals magnate weighed down by debt, and Vijay Shekhar Sharma, whose One97 Communications has seen its shares steadily fall since its IPO in late 2021, are among those who fell off the list.

Forbes’ global count of billionaires decreased from 2,668 last year to 2,640 in 2023. However, India’s tally improved from 166 in 2022 to 169 this year. Forbes stated that falling stocks, wounded unicorns, and rising interest rates contributed to a down year for the world’s wealthiest people. The world’s billionaires are now worth $12.2 trillion, a decline of $500 billion from $12.7 trillion in March 2022.

The United States continues to have the most billionaires on the Forbes list, with 735 list members worth a collective $4.5 trillion. China (including Hong Kong and Macau) remains in second place, with 562 billionaires worth $2 trillion, while India is in third place with 169 billionaires worth $675 billion. Forbes calculated net worth using stock prices and exchange rates from March 10, 2023.

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Mukesh Ambani Reclaims Title as Asia’s Richest Person: Forbes Announces Youngest, Oldest, and New Billionaires