The bottom 60%, the majority of the population, own 4.7%. The richest 1% own 51.5%
The Gini coefficient is one way of measuring inequality, with a reading of 100% denoting perfect inequality and zero indicating perfect equality. According to Credit Suisse, the Gini wealth coefficient in India has gone up from 81.3% in 2013 to 85.4% this year, which shows inequality has risen.
Another way of seeing who has benefited the most from economic growth is to consider the difference between growth in median wealth and growth in mean wealth. Mean wealth is skewed significantly by the wealth of the top 1%. The data show while mean wealth per adult increased at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3% between 2013 and 2018, the growth in median wealth per adult was at a much more sober CAGR of 4.4%. So the rich have benefited far more.
The Credit Suisse report says: “While wealth has been rising in India, not everyone has shared in this growth. There is still considerable wealth poverty, reflected in the fact that 91% of the adult population has wealth below $10,000. At the other extreme, a small fraction of the population (0.6% of adults) has a net worth over $100,000.”
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani leads the list of Indian billionaires, with a net valuation of over $40 billion; he added a total of $9.3 billion due to rapid progress in his telecom venture. Others like Azim Premji, Lakshmi Mittal and Hinduja Brothers, Pallonji Mistry also fall within the 1 per cent bracket who enjoy complete dominance in terms of wealth. Apart from the 12 super-wealthy Indians with over $10 billion in valuation, there are more than 100 billionaires in India.
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