Reliance Industries chairperson Mukesh Ambani reclaimed the title of India’s richest person from Gautam Adani in 2025 because of a sharper erosion in Adani’s net worth, according to an annual list published by Hurun India on Wednesday.
Despite a 6% year-on-year fall in his net worth, Ambani’s net worth remained around the ₹10-trillion mark at ₹9.6 trillion. There was a new entrant at number three—Roshni Nadar Malhotra of HCL Technologies with a net worth of ₹2.8 trillion. She is the richest woman in India and also the youngest person in the top 10.
India added 24 new dollar billionaires (at prevailing exchange rates) this year, bringing the total to 358, a significant jump from 221 in 2014.
There are now 1,687 Indians with net worth of more than ₹1,000 crore, compared to 1,319 in 2019. Their combined wealth stands at ₹167 trillion— nearly half of India’s FY25 GDP of ₹330.7 trillion (at current prices).
However, seven of the top 10 saw their net worth fall this year, thanks to a sharp decline in Indian benchmark indices because of economic uncertainty driven by US tariff hikes and fears of a global recession.
Nearly 62% of the people on the list saw their wealth increase, while 38% saw it decrease. The ratio paints a bleaker picture than in 2023, when 74% saw their net worth rise and only 20% saw it fall.
San Francisco-based Jayshree Ullal, chief executive officer (CEO) of Arista Networks, surpassed Zoho co-founder Radha Vembu to become the richest self-made Indian woman. Her net worth stood at ₹50,170 crore.
Falguni Nayar of Nykaa was third on this list, followed by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon and Ruchi Kalra of Ofbusiness, a technology B2B (business-to-business) platform.
A sector-wise breakup of the richest Indians showed the pharmaceutical sector continued to lead with 137 individuals or 8% of the total. It was followed by industrial products (132), and chemicals and petrochemicals (125). Cyrus Poonwalla and family of the Serum Institute of India was the richest Indian in pharma with a net worth of ₹2.5 trillion.
Mumbai remained the top wealth hub with 451 rich individuals living in the financial capital. Bengaluru (116) surpassed Hyderabad (102) to become the third-biggest hub for the richest Indians. The startup capital added 16 new individuals to the rich list.
An age-wise split showed that seniors dominated the list. The average age was 65, with one-third of individuals aged 61-70. More than 87% were above the age of 50 and only 4% were below 40.
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