According to Forbes’ latest compilation, the combined net worth of India’s 100 richest people rose to $300 billion this year 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.

The record number of billionaires on this year’s Forbes list of Richest Indians is yet another clear signal that the centre of gravity will increasingly shift to India and China over the next decade.

Pot of wealth: 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. In his words, RIL is ready for a "big surge forward" and will use its strong finances for "inorganic" growth and new ventures(Photo: AFP)

Rich at No 2: 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.(Photo: AFP)

Soap to software honcho: Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, with a net worth of $17.6 billion, is at number three. Azim Premji was recognised by Business Week as one of the Greatest Entrepreneurs of All Time for his vision and leadership that has been responsible for Wipro emerging as one of the world’s fastest growing companies.(Photo: AFP)

Scaling new heights: The Ruia brothers of the Essar Group are ranked at fourth position with a net worth of $15 billion. The IPO of Essar Energy in May, which raised $1.85 billion, was the largest ever listing by an Indian company in London.

According to Forbes, the top four tycoons on the list are worth a combined US$86 billion, short of the $180 billion record they set three years ago, and well shy of the US$150 billion net worth of the four richest Americans.

Savitri Jindal is the chairperson of Jindal Steel. Net worth estimated at $14.4 billion. She is the wife of late OP Jindal. She took over the chairmanship of the company in 2005 after her husband died in a copter crash. Jindal Organization, set up in 1970 by the OP Jindal, has grown from an indigenous single-unit steel plant in Hisar, Haryana, to the present multi-billion, multi-locational and multiproduct steel conglomerate.

Unlocking new opportunities : Mukesh’s younger brother Anil Ambani ranks sixth in the Forbes India Rich List with net worth totaling $13.3 billion. He is among those who has lost ground on the list, down from No. 3 last year. "Our Group is by far the youngest of all large business houses in India, but we already rank among the top 5 on every important financial and operating parameter," Anil Ambani had recently said in the AGM of Reliance Capital.(Photo: AFP)

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