Indians shine on Forbes 2023 billionaires list with three women's debut

The number of Indians featured on Forbes' annual list of the world's billionaires for 2023 has risen to a new high. Indians now make up 169 of the list, up from 166 in 2022.

Although there are more Indian billionaires on the list, their aggregate fortune shrank 10% to $675 billion from $750 billion on the 2022 list, despite there being more of them. Mukesh Ambani, the CEO of Reliance, is still the richest man in both Asia and India and is presently ranked ninth in the world. 

Gautam Adani's fall

The Indian whose wealth had a significant decline was Gautam Adani, who is the focus of a political uproar following a report by Hindenburg Research. According to a Forbes survey, Adani, the second-richest billionaire in India behind Ambani, had his net worth drop from $90 billion to $47.2 billion in just one year. 

Other Indian billionaires

Mukesh Ambani's fortunes had an 8% decline from 2022, yet he is still the ninth richest person in the world. He has an $83.4 billion net worth.

Despite an 11% decline in wealth from the previous year, software tycoon Shiv Nadar still ranks third in terms of wealth in India. He has a $25.6 billion net worth.

The fourth-richest individual in India is Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman and managing director of the Cyrus Poonawalla Group, which is home to the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines, Serum Institute of India. His wealth is now valued at $22.6 billion despite a 7% decline in net worth.

Three Indian women debut on Forbes' billionaire list

Three women, out of the 16 newcomers, made it to Forbes' 2023 list of Indian billionaires. Among the women are 59-year-old Rekha Jhunjhunwala, the wife of the late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, dubbed India's Warren Buffett. 

Rohiqa Cyrus Mistry, the daughter-in-law of late construction billionaire Pallonji Mistry, made it to Forbes' list for the first time. She was the wife of former Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry.

Saroj Rani Gupta is a self-made billionaire with a net worth of $1.2 billion, according to Forbes. The 72-year-old is the co-founder of APL Apollo Tubes along with her late husband SK Gupta.

Youngest billionaire in India

The co-founders of bargain brokerage Zerodha, 36-year-old Nikhil Kamath and his older brother Nithin Kamath are this year's youngest Indian billionaires according to the Forbes list. Nithin's fortune is valued at $2.7 billion, compared to Nikhil's $1.1 billion.