Energy tycoon and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani is the country's richest man with a personal fortune of $19.3 billion, says a report.
According to China-based research firm Hurun's inaugural India Rich List, Ambani is followed by the London-based steel baron L N Mittal who has a wealth of $16.9 billion. See pictures
Among others in the top 10 are: Wipro's Azim Premji (USD 12.3 billion), Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharmaceuticals (USD 8.5 billion), Pallonji Mistry of Shapoorji Pallonji & Co (USD 7.9 billion), Shashi & Ravi Ruia (Essar Energy, USD 7.2 billion) and Adi Godrej (Godrej Group, USD 6.9 billion).
The other four who make the list of top 10 billionaires are Kushal Pal Singh (DLF, USD 6.3 billion), Kumara Mangalam Birla (Grasim Industries, USD 5.8 billion), Shiv Nadar (HCL Technology, USD 5.7 billion) and Sunil Mittal (Bharti Airtel, USD 5.7 billion).
Men dominate the list with just 5 per cent of the list occupied by women.
Among the five richest Indian women, Savitri Jindal has emerged as India's richest woman with a personal fortune of USD 5.6 billion. She is followed by Indu Jain (Bennett Coleman, 1.7 billion dollars), Anu Aga (Thermax, 690 million dollars), Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Biocon, 600 million dollars) and Shobhana Bhartia (Hindustan Times, 490 million dollars).
"The stories of the people on the Hurun India Rich List tell the story of business in modern India," Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said, adding that "12 per cent depreciation of rupee against the US dollar negated the appreciation in India's stock markets."
Among the rich whose wealth was adversely affected in 2012 were Mukesh Ambani, L N Mittal, Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia, Kumara Mangalam Birla's flagship company Hindalco and telecom tycoon Sunil Mittal.
Those whose fortunes were on the upswing this year included Azim Premji, Pharma King Dilip Shanghvi (Sun Pharma), construction tycoon Pallonji Mistry and technology entrepreneur Shiv Nadar (HCL).
Interestingly, 62 per cent of the individuals in the Hurun India Rich List are self-made and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the only self-made woman in the list.
The list is a snapshot of wealth as on September 22, at an exchange rate of Rs 54 per dollar.
City-wise, Mumbai is home to 36 of India's Richest 100, followed by Delhi and Bengaluru with 22 and 15, respectively. Also, five of the Top 100 are based outside of India and they are led by L N Mittal in London.
The youngest person on the list is Shivinder Mohan Singh at 37 years old while the oldest, Keshub Mahindra, is 89 years old. The average age of the Top 100 is 62 years while the average age of the Top 10 is 65 years.