According to Forbes' latest compilation, the combined net worth of India's 100 richest people rose to $300 billion this year, equivalent to a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product, from $276 billion last year, driven by the country's booming economy and a rally in the stock market. The Forbes India Rich List says there are 69 billionaires this year, 17 more than last year.
Mukesh Ambani is the richest Indian in the world, with a net worth of $27 billion, says the Forbes India Rich List. The magazine has also predicted that Mukesh Ambani would be the world's richest man by 2014. 52-year-old Ambani has interests in a range of sectors from petrochemicals and textiles to retail. Recently his company has decided to enter into hotels, power, telecom and shale gas projects.
NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal is second on the list with wealth totaling $26.1 billion. Both Ambani and Mittal are also Asia's richest men, according to Forbes' list of Asia's 25 richest.
Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, with a net worth of $17.6 billion, is at number three.
Five women have made it to Forbes India magazine’s list of the 100 richest Indians this year, including OP Jindal Group chairperson Savitri Jindal, who surpassed billionaire Anil Ambani to attain fifth position in the list. Jindal was the richest lady in India for the fourth consecutive year, with a net worth of $14.4 billion
In contrast, there are the following stats about the rest of India which includes the vast majority of the population who are working class and peasantry:
ReplyDeleteAs of 2005:
* 85.7% of the population lives on less than $2.50 (PPP) a day, down from 92.5% in 1981. This is much higher than the 80.5% in Sub-Saharan Africa.
* 75.6% of the population lives on less than $2 a day (PPP), which is around 20 rupees or $0.5 a day in nominal terms. It was down from 86.6%, but is still even more than the 73.0% in Sub-Saharan Africa.
* 24.3% of the population earned less than $1 (PPP, around $0.25 in nominal terms) a day in 2005, down from 42.1% in 1981.
* 41.6% of its population is living below the new international poverty line of $1.25 (PPP) per day, down from 59.8% in 1981. The World Bank further estimates that a third of the global poor now reside in India.
Source:Wikipedia (Economy of India)