Mukesh Ambani earned 300 crore per day last year; richer than Hindujas, Mittals & Azim Premji combined

At a time when the common man is worried about increasing fuel costs, India’s richest person Mukesh Ambani became richer by a staggering Rs 300 crore per day over the past one year, according to a report by Barclays-Hurun India Rich List 2018.

The wealth report, released on Tuesday, also highlighted a 34 percent increase in the number of Indians having a net worth of Rs 1,000 crore or more.

Led by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani with a net worth of Rs 3.71 trillion, there were 831 Indians having a net worth of Rs 1,000 crore or more in 2018, which is 214 individuals more than the 2017 list, according to a Barclays-Hurun India rich list.

Ambani retained his position as the richest Indian for the seventh year in a row, thanks to a 45 percent rise in the share price of his company.

Interestingly, Ambani’s net worth is more than the combined wealth of the next three individuals in the list – SP Hinduja & Family (Rs 1.59 trillion), LN Mittal & Family (Rs 1.14 trillion) and Azim Premji (Rs 0.96 trillion).

A January 2018 report presented by Oxfam at the World Economic Forum had expressed concern on the rising inequalities, stating that 1 percent of the country’s population holds 73 percent of the wealth.

The financial capital, which presents stark contrasts like housing the largest slums in the continent as also costliest mansions like Ambani’s Antilla, has the highest number of contributors to the rich list, with 233 individuals, followed by 163 in the national Capital and 70 in Bengaluru.

Anas Rahman Junaid, managing director and chief researcher at Hurun India says the country is the fastest growing when it comes to people entering the rich list.

“The number of Rs 1,000 crore-plus wealthy Indians have nearly doubled in the past two years-from 339 in 2016 to 831 in 2018,” he said.

The 831 individuals on the list have a combined net worth of $719 billion, which accounts for a quarter of the nation’s GDP, pegged by IMF at USD 2.85 trillion in April 2018.

From a demographic perspective, the average age in the list is 60, the 24-year-old Ritesh Agarwal of Oravel Stays which runs Oyo Rooms, being the youngest and 95-year-old Dharam Pal Gulati of the masala brand MDH being the eldest.

There was a massive, 157 percent spike in the number of women on the list, which grew to 136.

Pharma sector promoters/executives dominate the list with a 13.7 percent occupancy, followed by software and services at 7.9 percent and fast moving consumer goods at 6.4 percent.

Nine individuals on the list saw a doubling of wealth in 2018, with Krishna Kumar Bangur of Graphite India being the biggest gainer with a 430 percent jump in his personal fortune.