American business magazine Forbes released its annual list featuring richest people in the world on March 20, 2017. It was a record year for the richest people on earth, as the number of billionaires jumped 13 per cent to 2,043 from 1,810 last year, the first time ever that Forbes has pinned down more than 2,000 ten-figure-fortunes. Their total net worth rose by 18 per cent to $7.67 trillion, also a record.
The change in the number of billionaires — up 233 since the 2016 list — was the biggest in the 31 years that Forbes has been tracking billionaires globally. Out of these, 101 were Indians.
Today, even as retailers in India face the Herculean task of reaching out to the customer through a combination of mobile, social and human connect, we bring to you a list of top Indian billionaires in the retail and consumer products category.
The Forbes Billionaires list is a snapshot of wealth taken in 2017 using stock prices and exchange rates from around the world to calculate net worths.
1. Mukesh Ambani
Net worth (as on July 10, 2017): With a net worth of $32.6 billion, Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), is the highest-ranked Indian on the list, at No. 33. (Info Source: Forbes)
Retail Businesses: Reliance Fresh, Reliance Super, Reliance Mart, Reliance Market, Reliance Digital, digitalxpress, iStore, RelianceresQ, Reliance Jewels, Reliancefootprint, RelianceLiving, RelianceAutozone, Vimal, V2 Vimal
About him: Mukesh Ambani, the 60-year-old chairman of the oil-to-yarn and retail conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), joined Reliance in 1981 and became its Chairman and Managing Director in 2002. An extreme innovator and believer in game-changing businesses of the future, Ambani is known for challenging conventional wisdom and spotting opportunities quickly. Reliance’s retail arm, Reliance Retail Ltd, is the largest of its kind in India.
2. Micky Jagtiani
Net worth (as on June 22, 2017): $4.5 billion (Info Source: Forbes)
Retail Business: Landmark Group
About him: Middle East retail magnate Micky Jagtiani drove a taxi in London before moving to Bahrain and starting a baby products shop in 1973. He built it into the Dubai-headquarted Landmark Group, which his wife Renuka helps him run. With estimated annual revenue of $6 billion, Landmark has more than 2,200 stores spread across the Middle East, Africa and India.
3. MA Yousuf Ali
Net worth (as on June 22, 2017): $4.5 billion (Info Source: Forbes)
Retail Business: Lulu Group
About him: Gulf-based retailer M A Yousuf Ali chairs the United Arab Emirates-based LuLu Group. With an annual turnover of US $5.5 billion globally, LuLu Group International employs the largest number of Indians outside India. The Group is known for running a retail chain of over 120 hypermarkets, supermarkets and grocery outlets, and a dozen shopping malls, mainly in the Middle East and Asia. Ali also has a hospitality arm Twenty14 Holdings.
Latest Projects: His new projects include a $300 million investment in Trivandrum in South India that will include a mall, hotel and convention center.
4. Nusli Wadia
Net worth (as on June 22, 2017): $3.5 billion (Info Source: Forbes)
Retail Business: Group companies include Britannia Industries, and home textiles maker Bombay Dyeing.
About him: Nusli Wadia is the chairman of the Wadia Group, a cookies-to-aviation empire with roots in shipbuilding.
5. Acharya Balkrishna
Net Worth (as on June 22, 2017): $3 Billion (Info Source: Forbes)
Retail Business: Patanjali Ayurved
About him: Acharya Balkrishna, the childhood buddy of politically well-connected Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev, makes a debut on the Forbes billionaires ranks thanks to his 97% holding in fast-growing consumer goods outfit Patanjali Ayurved, which they cofounded in 2006. With estimated revenue of $780 million, Patanjali sells everything from herbal toothpastes and cosmetics to noodles and jams.
6. Adi Godrej
Net worth (as on June 22, 2017): $2.5 billion (Info Source: Forbes)
Retail Businesses: Godrej Appliances, Nature’s Basket, Home & Personal Care Godrej Expert, Cinthol, Good Knight, HIt, among othes)
About him: A US$4.1 billion (revenues) consumer-goods conglomerate, Godrej Group, chaired by Adi Godrej, is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The group was established by lawyer Ardeshir Godrej, who gave up his profession to make locks in 1897. He launched the world’s first soap product made from vegetable oil in 1918. An MIT grad, Adi returned home to join the family business in 1963 and took charge as chairman in 2000. He took the Group to great heights during the License Raj.
7. Radhakishan Damani
Net worth (as on June 22, 2017): $2.3 billion (Info Source: Forbes)
Retail Business: DMart
About him: Veteran Mumbai investor Radhakishan Damani, who is also a mentor to billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, makes his debut buoyed by the recent IPO of his hypermarket chain DMart. He holds stakes in a range of companies, from tobacco firm VST industries to cement maker India Cements. His property portfolio includes the 156-room Radisson Blu Resort in Alibag, a popular beach-front getaway close to Mumbai. Low profile Damani rarely makes appearances at public events and avoids speaking to the press.
8. Harsh Mariwala
Retail Business: Marico
About him: Harsh Mariwala transformed his family’s traditional business of trading in spices and edible oils, into Marico, among the country’s leading consumer goods companies. Marico, which is best known for its Saffola cooking oil and Parachute hair oil, sells in 25 countries and aspires to be an Indian multinational. His other interests include Kaya, a chain of skin care clinics.
9. Sanjiv Goenka
Net worth (as on June 22, 2017): $1.8 Billion (Info Source: Forbes)
Retail Business: Spencer’s Retail
Sanjiv Goenka controls $2.6 billion (revenue) conglomerate RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, headquartered in Kolkata. Its flagship is 118-year-old power utility, CESC, with 3 million customers. It has expanded beyond its eastern India stronghold with rights to distribute electricity in Rajasthan. Assets include Supermarket chain Spencer’s, which son Shashwat looks after.
10. Ravi Jaipuria
Net worth (as on June 22, 2017): $1.8 Billion (Info Source: Forbes)
Retail Business: Pepsico’s Biggest Bottler
About him: Varun Beverages Ltd, the second largest PepsiCo. Inc. bottler in the world is the flagship firm of Delhi-based billionaire Ravi Jaipuria. Varun Beverages is a distributor of PepsiCo. products in north and east India and the largest bottler for the US-based beverage maker in South Asia, with operations in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Globally, it’s the second largest bottler of PepsiCo. beverages, behind only Tingyi Holdings Corp. of China. (Image Courtesy: livemint.com)
11. Radhe Shyam Goenka
Net Worth (as on June 22, 2017): $1.48 Billion (Info Source: Forbes)
About him: Radhe Shyam Goenka co-founded consumer goods firm Emami in 1974 with his best pal Radhe Shyam Agarwal. The $400 million (revenue) maker of health, herbal and beauty products is well-known for such brands as Fair and Handsome, a skin lightening cream for men and celebrity and sports star endorsements for its products.
12. Anand C Burman
Net worth (as on June 22, 2017): $1.4 Billion (Info Source: Forbes)
Retail Business: Dabur
About him: Burman was born in an Indian business family. His father was Ashok Chand Burman chairman emeritus of Dabur. Anand joined his family business Dabur as manager Research and Development department in 1980. He came on the companies board in 1986 and became chairman of Dabur in 2007. Burman family also holds the franchise for Mexican fast-food chain Taco Bell in India and opened its first store, in Delhi, in June.
