NEW DELHI: Mumbai has been crowned the “billionaire capital of Asia,” surpassing Beijing in the 2024 Hurun India Rich List. With an impressive addition of 58 new billionaires this year, Mumbai now boasts 386 billionaires, making it the top city for billionaires in Asia.
The Hurun India Rich List 2024 highlights Mumbai as the home to 25% of India’s billionaires. “Mumbai is not only the billionaire capital of Asia, overtaking Beijing, but also the preferred city for Hurun India Rich Listers,” the report stated.
Following Mumbai, New Delhi and Hyderabad have emerged as other key cities for India’s ultra-wealthy.
Delhi, with the addition of 18 new billionaires, now has a total of 217 entries on the list, securing its position as the second city with the most billionaires in India.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad has taken a significant leap, surpassing Bengaluru for the first time to claim the third spot in the number of wealthy residents.
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Hyderabad saw a surge of 17 new billionaires, bringing its total to 104. Murali Divi and family stand out as the richest individuals from Hyderabad this year.
Bengaluru, despite its reputation as India’s tech hub, remained stagnant with no new entries, keeping its total at 100, thus ranking fourth in the list of cities with the most wealthy individuals.
In a notable achievement, Lachman Dass Ladhani, Managing Director of Amrit Bottlers, has jumped to the 360th rank on the Hurun India Rich List 2024. Ladhani, who is based in Faizabad (Ayodhya), has seen his wealth grow significantly from ₹4,104 crore last year to ₹7,700 crore this year.
His rise from the 486th position in 2023 reflects a robust growth in the food and beverage sector, where he operates.
Ladhani’s journey in the business world is quite remarkable. Before joining Parle Export in 1982, he was an A-class civil construction contractor, executing various projects across West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.
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His most notable civil work includes the construction of ‘Ram Ki Pauri’ on the banks of the Saryu River in Ayodhya, designed similarly to ‘Har Ki Pauri’ in Haridwar.
Ladhani later ventured into the beverage industry, taking on the challenging task of manufacturing soft drinks such as Thums Up, Limca, Gold Spot, and Bisleri Club Soda.
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Chennai has secured the fifth position among the top cities, with a total of 82 wealthy individuals, after adding 15 new entries this year. Venu Srinivasan emerges as the richest individual from Chennai. Kolkata follows in sixth place with 69 wealthy residents, 18 of whom are new additions this year.
Benu Gopal Bangur and family are the richest from Kolkata, where the number of billionaires has now reached 12.
Ahmedabad is ranked seventh with 67 entries, including 12 new additions this year. Gautam Adani, a name synonymous with India’s industrial might, is the wealthiest from Ahmedabad, which has a total of 14 billionaires.
Pune comes in next with 53 wealthy individuals, where Cyrus Poonawalla and family lead as the richest. Surat, with 28 wealthy residents, and Gurugram, with 23, follow, with Ashwin Desai and family and Nirmal Kumar Minda and family being the richest in their respective cities.