Forbes list of richest people of 2015 has a record 90 Indians featuring in it. Here is a list of India's top ten wealthiest people.
Rank 1: Mukesh Ambani ($21 billion)
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani holds the spot of being the richest Indian, according to Forbes Billionaires List 2015. He has been on the top in the list of richest Indians for eight consecutive years now.
Rank 2: Dilip Shanghvi ($20 billion)
Sun Pharma Founder Dilip Shanghvi is the second richest Indian as his company's shares rose after acquisition of local pharma company Ranbaxy. He even picked up 23 per cent stake in Suzlon. Analysts say Shaghvi is soon closing in on Ambani.
Rank 3: Azim Premji ($19.1 billion)
Wipro Chairman and IT czar Azim Premji's salary package dropped 55 per cent in the 2014-15 financial year but he manages to hold on to the position of third riches Indian with the holding of company's 73.39 per cent shares. Premji Invest, the family office of the IT czar invested $80-million in US' mobile operating system startup Cyanogen in March this year. Azim Premji Trust had picked up nearly 1 per cent stake in HDFC Life for Rs 19,890 crore in December last year.
Rank 4: Shiv Nadar ($14.8 billion)
Shiv Nadar , founder chairman of Rs 16,000-crore IT enterprise HCL, is the fourth richest Indian in the Forbes 2015 list. Nadar donates billions of dollars from his personal wealth to the Shiv Nadar Foundation, the philanthropy organisation started by him in 1994. His foundation exit HCL by selling its 0.79 per cent stake in the open market this year in March. He purchased a Rs 115 crore bungalow in Delhi for his daughter Roshni last year.
Rank 5: Lakshmi Mittal ($13.5 billion)
NRI steel baron Lakshmi Mittal slipped to the fifth position in the list of the richest Indians in the Forbes 2015 list. ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker in which Mittal is the chairman and chief executive, recently announced an alliance with Steel Authority of India (SAIL) for an automotive steel plant in the country.
Rank 6: Kumar Birla ($9 billion)
The 47-year-old billionaire industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla has recently made a slew of acquisitions thorough Aditya Vikram Birla Group (AV Birla group) in cement, aluminium, telecom and retails sectors. He acquired Jubilant Industries' hypermarket in May in an all cash deal. Aditya Birla Private Equity (PE) even intends to raise $500-million funds from investors.
Rank 7: Udya Kotak ($7.2 billion)
Kotak Mahindra Bank chief Uday Kotak entered the list of top ten richest Indians for the first time as the bank's shares gained on the stock markets. The Kotak Mahindra Bank's shares rose after it acquired ING Vysya Bank from the Dutch ING Group.
Rank 8: Gautam Adani ($6.6 billion)
Adani group chairman Gautam Adani wealth has zoomed in the past one year since Narendra Modi government came to power. Adani has been globetrotting with Modi to Bhutan, Brazil, Japan, France and China. Adani Group formed in 1988 is said to be growing with Modi's political stature.
Rank 8: Sunil Mittal ($6.6 billion)
Telecom major Bharti Airtel chief Sunil Mittal finds his way in the top ten wealthiest Indians. The company is trying to become a global firm looking at establishing its base in Africa. Airtel has assets in 15 countries in Africa.
Rank 8: Cyrus Poonawalla ($6.6 billion)
Dr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla is the chairman of Poonawalla Group. He was named as EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 for development of low cost life-saving drugs by his company Serum Institute of India, which is Asia's largest vaccine maker. Poonawalla is now looking at a possible merger of Serum Insititute of India with generic drug maker Cipla Ltd. The billionaire entrepreneur had also placed a $937 million bid for London's Grosvenor House Hotel.