Forbes India Rich list: Azim Premji drops from 2nd to 17th position after huge donation to charity

Wipro founder and tech tycoon Azim Premji has dropped to 17th spot from the second position on Forbes India Rich List after giving away a substantial portion of his fortune to charity. Premji saw his net worth plunge to $7.2 billion from $21 billion last year.

"In all, 14 were poorer by $1 billion or more, and nine members from last year's ranks dropped off. More than a third of that decline was due to the remarkable largesse of tech tycoon Azim Premji, who gave away a chunk of his fortune in March and consequently dropped in the ranks to No. 17 from No. 2," Forbes said.

Azim Premji's wealth dropped by $13.8 billion as he gave away a chunk of his fortune to charity; he's on the #17 spot on the #ForbesIndiaRichList2019

Full list: https://t.co/HhQsMVycaA @azimpremjiuniv #ForbesIndiaRichList2019 #AzimPremji pic.twitter.com/z1yMCTZjgT

- Forbes India (@forbes_india) October 11, 2019

Also Read: Forbes India Rich List 2019: Mukesh Ambani retains top position for 12th straight year; Adani leaps eight spots to 2nd rank

ArcelorMittal chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal's net worth also plunged to $10.4 billion to ninth spot this year. The steel baron had bagged third place last year with a net worth of $18.3 billion. This steep decline came on account of falling steel prices and muted demand.

"Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, who has yet to complete the acquisition of bankrupt Essar Steel, took a $7.8 billion hit amid falling steel prices and weak demand," Forbes added.

Also Watch: Azim Premji: The business tycoon with a large heart

Business magnates in the auto and consumer goods space also saw a steep drop in their wealth. Autoparts maker Vivek Chaand Sehgal's net worth more than halved to $2.45 billion on account of weak consumer sentiment in the automobile industry.

This year spelled an 8% drop in the total wealth of business tycoons on the Forbes' 2019 list to $452 billion. It had been a "challenging year for the nation's wealthies" owing to the economic slowdown.

Meanwhile, the list also included six newcomers who made their debut this year comprising Byju Raveendran (no. 72, $1.91 billion), Manohar Lal and Madhusudan Agarwal (No. 86, $1.7 billion) of Delhi-headquartered Haldiram Snacks and Rajesh Mehra (no. 95, $1.5 billion) of Jaquar.

Also Watch: Mukesh Ambani is India's richest man; Azim Premji comes in second