IIFL WEALTH and HURUN INDIA release IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021

MUMBAI: Hurun India and IIFL Wealth has released the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021. This is the 10th annual ranking of the richest individuals in India. Wealth calculations are a snapshot as of 15th September 2021. 1,007 individuals, up 179, across 119 cities, up 5, have INR 1,000 crore on the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021.

Cumulative wealth up 51%, while average wealth increased by 25%. 894 individuals saw their wealth increase or stay the same, of which 229 new faces, whilst 113 saw their wealth drop and there were 51 dropouts. India has 237 billionaires, up 58 compared to last year. While Chemicals and Software sectors added the greatest number of new entrants to the list, Pharma is still at number one and has contributed 130 entrants to the list. The youngest in the list is aged 23, 3 years younger than the youngest last year.

Karan Bhagat, Founder, MD & CEO, IIFL Wealth, said, “The rising wealth creation documented in IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021 is a reflection of the robust foundation of the Indian businesses and the confidence they command from their respective stakeholders. Key facts from the list that stand out for us are the rise of women wealth creators, the reduction in average age, and the inclusion of Tier 2 cities such as Pune, Rajkot, Surat, Faridabad and Ludhiana in the top 20. For us at IIFL Wealth, these factors are already translating into newer solutions and strategies around the wealth management business.”

Anirudha Taparia, Joint CEO, IIFL Wealth, said, “IIFL Wealth has been associated with the Rich List for some years now and while we are happy to see that the list has grown 10 times in the last 10 years. Our country has emerged significantly stronger from the much critical pandemic situation. While the challenges were aplenty, the optimism of a fast recovery, has taken our indices to new highs in recent times. It is in these optimistic times, that we, at IIFL Wealth are proud to associate with Hurun India Rich List 2021. Being a wealth manager of choice, this report is not merely a compendium of wealthy business owners and professionals – but a reflection of how and where wealth creators are expanding their wealth. “

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Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India, said, “10 times in 10 years. The number of entrants in IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List has grown from just under 100 ten years ago to 1,007 today. At this rate, in 5 years, I expect the list to grow to 3,000 individuals. The evolution of the IIFL Hurun India Rich List is a reflection of India’s economic growth story.”

“The Hurun’s 10th year anniversary logo is inspired by the Sanskrit word “Veerya”, meaning energy. Much of India’s economic success is driven by the energy and resilience of entrepreneurs, who stood the test of time. Be it getting the better of the Global Financial Crisis, Demonetisation or the various waves of Covid-19, Indian entrepreneurs will be the major catalyst in India’s growth story towards achieving the US$5tn GDP target.”

“With wealth creation transforming from a test match to a lightning 20-20, India is witnessing the fastest wealth creation pace in its history. IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich Listers added INR 2,020 Cr each day for the past 10 years. At this rate, I expect India to add another 250 billionaires over the next five years and rival the USA in terms of number of billionaires within ten years.” 

“The list has become more ‘inclusive’. The number of women on the list is 47 this year, up from 5 ten years ago. The youngest ten years ago was 37 and today is 23, indicating the impact of the startup revolution.”

“Wealth creation by industry is changing. Software & Services is third today, up from fifth spot ten years ago. Chemicals as a sector was absent ten years ago, but is the second highest wealth creator this year.” 

“2 months into Covid, economic uncertainty thumped the wealth of IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich Listers by circa 30%. However, a revitalized pent up demand accompanied with timely government policies, accentuated investor interest for Indian economy and stormed NIFTY and SENSEX to all-time highs. The “bull-market” valuation multiples, resulted in 9 out of 10 of the list either increasing or retaining their wealth compared to last year, and 116 individuals doubling their wealth.”

“The pandemic boosted the Chemicals & Petrochemicals sector and hit the Jewellery sector hard, which witnessed 12 dropouts and eroded INR 3,000 Cr compared to last year. Hospitality and Real Estate recovered by 53% and 37%, after a terrible year last year. Entrepreneurs from the chemical industry are like ‘Sachin Tendulkar’. They have been ‘silent’; but are ‘master blasters’ when it comes to wealth creation.” 

“IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich Listers are creating substantial value towards nation building by way of taxes paid, employment generation, infra investments, philanthropy and shareholder value creation. For instance, the number of Indians, who donated more than INR 10 Cr in a year, doubled from 37 to 79 this year, according to the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021. Creating social value was further demonstrated by companies like Cyrus Poonawalla’s Serum Institute of India, which supplied circa 90% of administered Covid vaccines, that too at liberalised pricing to accelerate inoculation in India.”

“If you have an idea that genuinely addresses an Indian problem and are willing to hustle, this is the time to start-up. If you have idle money in your bank accounts, this is the time to allocate a proportion of it to Indian start-ups! Indian start-up ecosystem is on a wealth creation spree. India has added 3 unicorns a month over the last year, to take the total number of billion-dollar start-ups to 53 and 82 Future Unicorns, known as Gazelles and Cheetahs, according to the Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2021. Crucially, investor exit paths for successful Indian start-ups are maturing, through both the public markets (eg Zomato) and private sales (eg Flipkart and media.net).”

“I am very stoked that over the last 10 years, wealth is being created from more and more sectors – 19 sectors a decade ago to 46 now.  Watch electric vehicles (EV), financial services and real estate. India has its first EV rich lister Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola Electric. Watch out also for challengers to banking, FMCG, Food & Beverages. Increased internet and social media adoption, have reduced the cost of traditional spends in marketing and branding, thus enabling these brands to create increased awareness amongst their target audience.” 

“It is interesting to note popular consumer brands such as Fevicol, Parle G biscuits, Nirma, Haldirams, Emami, Britannia, Bisleri, Jockey, RajniGandha are owned by Hurun India Rich listers. B2C companies contributed 60% of the list. Next time, when you buy a product from a grocery store and cross check the manufacturer, you would note that so many brands are owned by Hurun India Rich listers.”

“Wealth creation has become more decentralised. Over the last decade, the number of Indian cities in the rich list jumped to 76, up from 10. At this rate, expect to see each of the government’s planned 100 smart cities to have a rich lister within five years.”

“Government policies such as lower corporate tax rates have fueled value unlocking in India Inc. For instance, the ‘Performance-Linked Incentive (PLI)’ scheme, fueled entrepreneurs like Sunil Vachani of Dixon Technologies to become a billionaire and Mahendra Nahata of HFCL to break into the list”. 

“A record 659 entrepreneurs or 66% are self-made, up from 530 last year, and up from 54% five years ago. At this rate, I expect the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List to be 80% self-made within five years, fueled especially by tech startups.”

“India is third in the world, when it comes to billionaires, and adding new billionaires at one of the fastest rates. Today, India has 237 billionaires, more than quadruple that of ten years ago, and the second fastest growth in the world after China, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2021.”

“It is getting harder to make the top of the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List. The cut-off to the India Top 100, for example, is up 9-fold to INR 16,900 Cr. To make the India Top 10 is next to impossible, with a massive INR 1,21,600 Cr required.”

“The Indian diaspora is perhaps the world’s most successful immigrant ethnic group, and enjoys particular success in the USA, followed by UAE, UK and Singapore. Foreign governments have been doling out attractive visa options to Indian startups, HNIs and highly skilled professionals.  Almost 2/3^rd  of the start-ups founded by Indians or Indian origin founders are headquartered outside of India. If this trend continues, I expect the migration levels in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List to go up from the current levels of 10% of the list to 20% in the next 5 years.”

“Hurun Report’s mission is promoting entrepreneurship through its lists and research. The stories of the people from the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List tell the story of the India economy. Hurun India has managed to bring the cut-off of the Hurun India Rich List down to 1,000 Cr from 1,800 Cr ten years ago. This enables Hurun India to tell exciting stories about local heroes from smaller cities and towns – stories that might otherwise get missed.”

“Assuming that for every one Hurun rich lister we have found, we have probably missed two, it is likely that India today has 3,000 individuals worth INR 1,000 Cr.”, concluded Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India. 

Top 10 Wealthiest Individuals

There were four new faces in the India Top 10 this year, despite the cut-off being up by 60%.

Five individuals still make the India Top 10 after ten years, led by Mukesh Ambani and followed by LN Mittal, Dilip Shanghvi, Kumara Mangalam Birla and Shiv Nadar.

Table 1: Top 10 in IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021

↑ Rank increase yoy ↓ Rank decrease YoY – No Rank change yoy * New to Top 10

Source: Hurun Research Institute; IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021