Nykaa founder Falguni Nayar amongst world’s new billionaires: Hurun Rich List

Falguni Nayar, founder of the beauty e-commerce platform Nykaa, entered the Hurun Global Rich List 2022 as India’s most successful self-made woman with a net worth of $7.6 billion, becoming the first woman to overtake Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon. 

Hurun Report is a comprehensive evaluation of the wealthiest individuals across the globe and is the largest compiler of the rich list globally. 

Falguni, along with her husband Sanjay Nayar, featured in the list of top 10 new entrants in the 2022 Hurun Global Rich List. Nayar’s entry is backed by the success of the Nykaa's IPO, which was listed at a premium of over 82 per cent, and the market cap crossed Rs 1 lakh crore post listing, Hurun said.

India ranked third in the list of total billionaires in the world, with 215 billionaires, 38 more than last year. Healthcare, consumer goods and chemicals sectors led the way with 46, 29, and 23 billionaires each. In total, 180 Indian billionaires saw their wealth increase, of which 51 were new entrants, 23 decreased, 11 dropped off and position of 12 Indian billionaires remained the same. 

Mukesh Ambani continues to be the richest Indian on the Hurun Global Rich List 2022 ,with a total wealth of $103 billion. There are 24 new entrants in the top 100 globally, led by Australia-based Mike Cannon Brookes and Scott Farquhar of Atlassian, both with net worth of $27 billion, followed by Serum Institute’s Cyrus Poonawalla with a net worth of $26 billion whose wealth increased by 41 per cent last year. Besides, there are 34 billionaires of Indian-origin living outside of India led by LN Mittal of Arcelor Mittal in London, with a net worth of $25 billion and a 32 per cent increase in wealth. 

Falguni Nayar founded Nykaa in 2012 just months before turning 50. The woman-led unicorn offers 4,000 beauty, personal care, and fashion brands through its website, app, and 80-odd brick-and-mortar stores.

Nayar graduated from IIM Ahmedabad and later started her career in consulting. She then spent 18 years at the Kotak Mahindra Bank and was the Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Investment Bank, and was director at Kotak Securities – the bank’s institutional equities division.