Wipro's Azim Premji was the distant second with a net worth of $19 billion, moving up two places from last year
In the just-published India rich-list that captures the changing dynamics of the Indian economy, Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani has retained his rank as the country's richest for the tenth straight year with a net worth of $38 billion (approximately Rs 2.5 lakh crore).
Ambani is at the top not only for being country's petroleum czar but also for owning the pipeline that is carrying the new oil, the data.
The Forbes India's 100 Richest 2017 list has been released at a time when Ambani has come out with the cheapest 4G mobile handset that may soon redefine the hardware market in a way his fully internet-based mobile telephony service Reliance Jio turned the industry upside down some time back.
Wipro's Azim Premji was the distant second with a net worth of $19 billion, moving up two places from last year, while Sun Pharma's Dilip Shanghvi slipped from his earlier second place to the ninth, his fortune dwindling to $12.1 billion.
The Hinduja family - Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok - are at the third position with $18.4 billion while Lakshmi Mittal is now ranked fourth ($16.5 billion) followed by Pallonji Mistry ($16 billion).
Those who failed to innovate lost ground, notably the Ruias, with the brothers - Shashi and Ravi – falling from 16th rank in 2016 to 41st this year. Their net worth plunged from $5.8 billion to $3.4 billion following the sale of Essar Oil assets to Russian oil producer Rosneft for $12.9 billion and with Essar Steel facing bankruptcy proceedings.
Essel Group head Dr Subash Chandra, with a net worth of $5.6 billion, is at the 18th spot.
The new entrants signified how tech companies are taking over old money, exemplified by Dinesh Nandwana of e-governance player Vakrangee Software at 88th position ($1.72 billion), Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm at 99th ($1.47 billion), followed by Rana Kapoor, who, with a wealth tag of $1.46 billion, played a stellar role in the rise of YES Bank.
The most spectacular returnee was veteran investor Radhakishan Damani who spearheaded the successful listing of supermarket chain DMart in March. With a net worth of 9.3 billion, Damani is at the 12th position.
Another maverick retailer, Future Group's Kishore Biyani, returned with a net worth of $2.75 billion, which secured him 55th rank.
Siblings Murli Dhar and Bimal Gyanchandani, makers of Ghari Detergent, which much like Nirma created a brand in the unorganised low-price washing power, returned at position 75th with a net worth of $1.96 billion.
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