Forbes list of Indian billionaires is based on an annual assessment of wealth and assets compiled and published by Forbes magazine in March 2016.
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#1 | Mukesh Ambani | $22.7 B
Oil and gas tycoon Mukesh Ambani sparked a price war in India’s hyper-competitive telecom market with the launch of 4G phone service JIO at the annual shareholders? meeting of his Reliance Industries in September. The $44.7 billion (revenue) Reliance Industries is locked in a legal battle with the government related to the recovery of costs associated with developing a gas field. Wife Nita, who sits on Reliance’s board, is a member of the International Olympic Committee.
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#2 | Dilip Shanghvi | $16.9 B
India’s richest pharma magnate Dilip Shanghvi’s wealth is down by $1.1 billion along with a drop in shares of his Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, the world’s fifth-largest generics maker. The company’s profitability improved in a recent quarter partly due to U.S. sales of the generic version of Glivec, a leukemia drug made by Novartis. Earlier this year Sun acquired 14 drugs from Novartis in Japan for $293 million that will be distributed by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma.
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#3 | Hinduja Family | $15.2 B
Four close-knit siblings, Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok, control the Hinduja Group, a far-flung multinational empire with businesses ranging from trucks and lubricants to banking and cable television. The group commissioned its much-delayed 1,040-megawatt thermal power unit in south India in July and is reportedly in the fray to acquire SunEdison’s Indian solar power assets.
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#4 | Azim Premji | $15 B
Tech magnate Azim Premji’s $7.7 billion (revenue) Wipro, India’s third-largest outsourcer, reported a 6% fall in net earnings to $304 million in a recent quarter amid sluggish sales. To boost growth, Wipro has been on a buying spree in the past year. Its most recent acquisition was HealthPlan Services, an insurance technology firm based in Florida, for $460 million. But it called off the $130 million purchase of New Jersey-based Viteos Group, citing delays in completion of the deal.
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#5 | Pallonji Mistry | $13.9 B
Reclusive tycoon Pallonji Mistry’s engineering and construction giant, 151-year-old Shapoorji Pallonji Group, is run by older son Shapoor. Younger son Cyrus chairs the $108 billion (revenue) Tata Group, a conglomerate of more than 100 companies, including valuable outsourcer Tata Consultancy Services. Mistry’s 18.4% stake in holding outfit Tata Sons is his biggest asset. Shapoor is reportedly negotiating to acquire a 51% stake in Karaikal Port in South India.