By Vipin Agnihotri
It’s official. Four Indian industrialists, namely, Lakshmi Mittal, Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani and property tycoon K.P. Singh are among the top 10 richest individuals in the world, according to a survey conducted by Forbes magazine.
In my opinion, a phenomenal surge in the sensex last year took them to the top of the totem pole. Point to be noted here is that India has the maximum number in the top 10 followed by US, which has two. On the other hand, Germany, Mexico, Sweden and Russia have one each.
It is worthwhile pointing that in 2007 there was only one Indian, Lakshmi Mittal in the top 10. According to Forbes survey, Warren Buffett, the legendary investor with a $62-billion net worth, is the world’s richest man. Buffett dislodged Microsoft chief Bill Gates ($58 billion), who tumbled to the third spot after a hostile bid for Yahoo that sent the software giant’s stocks plunging by more than 15 per cent.
The second spot has gone to Mexican telecom czar Carlos Slim Helu who is worth $60 billion. After Gates, the pecking order has three Indians: Lakshmi Mittal ($45 billion), Mukesh Ambani ($43 billion) and Anil Ambani ($42 billion).
Although, Anil Ambani’s Reliance Power Ltd made a torrid start on the bourses but interestingly Anil Ambani is the biggest gainer among all the billionaires. In terms of statistic, his net worth has soared $23.8 billion.
Talking about his brother Mukesh Ambani, Mukesh’s fortune has risen $22.9 billion since last year and he is the world’s second biggest gainer in dollar terms. DLF chairman K.P. Singh, who figures in the eighth place, is worth $30 billion.
Forbes used number of parameters to arrive at the wealth of each billionaire. The pivotal factor here is that stock prices were calculated using market prices and exchange rates as of market closings on February 11. In addition, Forbes also went through holdings of publicly traded companies, private investments, real estate and art collections.
According to experts, rise of Indians, particularly the two Ambanis and Singh, on the rich list is not surprising especially when one takes into consideration the fact that their individual businesses have performed admirably over the past year.
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