New Delhi: Forbes has published the 36th-annual ranking of billionaires across the world, and the list has several Indians on it.
Inspite of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ambanis, Adanis, and Mittals all feature on the Forbes’ latest rich list.
According to Forbes, pandemic, war, and sluggish markets hit the world’s billionaires this year. There are 2,668 of them on Forbes’ list of the planet’s richest people. 87 fewer than a year ago. They’re worth a collective $12.7 trillion, $400 billion less than in 2021.
The number of billionaires worldwide declined, however, 40 per cent of those who remained got richer. The top three rankings in the Forbes’ 2022 list remain unchanged from the previous year.
Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and SpaceX founder Elon Musk tops the list with a net worth of $219 billion. Just after Musk, Amazon Inc’s Jeff Bezos is the second richest person with a total net worth of $171 billion.
France’s Bernard Arnault & family placed in the third spot with a cumulative net worth of $158 billion, while Microsoft’s Bill Gates is at the fourth position. His net worth is $129 billion. Warren Buffet, with $118 billion net worth, placed in the fifth spot.
Apart from the top five, there are several Indians feature on the Forbes list.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, retained his top spot on Forbes’ list of India’s 10 richest billionaires. He was followed by Gautam Adani, head of Adani Group, and HCL Technologies Chairman Emeritus Shiv Nadar bagged the third place.
According to the report, Ambani's total wealth stood at $90.7 billion, up 7 per cent from the last financial year. He is also the richest person in Asia and the 10th wealthiest in the world.
Adani, who is behind Ambani in the Forbes list, is also the second richest person in Asia with a total net worth of $90 billion.
Serum Institute’s Cyrus Poonawalla, whose pharma company was at the forefront of producing jabs against Covid-19, was placed fourth with an estimated net worth of $24.3 billion.
D-Mart founder Radhakishan Damani, who entered the list of world's 100 richest individuals last year, was ranked fifth with a net worth of $20 billion.
Lakshmi Mittal, executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, who has a net worth of $17.9 billion was ranked sixth. OP Jindal Group matriarch Savitri Jindal ($17.7 billion) was ranked seventh, Aditya Birla Group chief Kumar Birla ($16.5 billion) eighth, Sun Pharmaceuticals head Dilip Shanghvi ($15.6 billion) ninth, while Kotak Mahindra Bank MD Uday Kotak ($14.3 billion) is on 10th spot.
According to news reports, in India, the number of billionaires rose from 140 last year to a record high of 166.