Rich list, India: 2018
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Technology billionaires
The top 13
Komal Mohan, April 23, 2018: The Times of India
Fortune magazine recently came out with its World’s Greatest Leaders 2018 list and ranked the richest Indian Mukesh Ambani 24th. The magazine in the list mentioned that Ambani has "in less than two years, brought mobile data to the masses - and completely upended the country's telecom market", Ambani is no stranger to be on such lists as even on Forbes World Billionaires list he has always been omnipresent. The Forbes World’s Billionaires list also had 13 other Indian billionaires from the list, who owe (some part of it) their wealth to the technology industry.
Here's over to richest Indian 'tech' billionaires in the country ...
Mukesh Ambani
Net worth - $40.1 billion
Global ranking - 19
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is the richest Indian in the Forbes’ 2018 ‘World’s Billionaires’ list. Ambani has topped the list for 11th year in a row. His telecom company Reliance Jio has changed the contours of the Indian telecom segment, triggering a bruising price war.
Azim Premji
Net worth - $18.8 billion
Global ranking - 58
The second Indian on the list is Azim Premji, the founder and chairman of India's third-largest software company Wipro. Premji had to give up his studies at Stanford University to takeover the family's cooking oil business in 1966 after his father's sudden death. He later expanded the company into software business. With an innovation centre in Silicon Valley, Wipro focuses on developing new technologies and collaborating with startups.
Shiv Nadar
Net worth - $14.6 billion
Global ranking - 98
Next on the list is Shiv Nadar, the co-founder of India's fourth-largest information technology company HCL. Nadar is one of India's leading most-prominent philanthropists and has donated $662 million to his Shiv Nadar Foundation.
Sunil Mittal
Net worth - $8.8 billion
Global ranking - 176
Telecom baron Sunil Mittal is the next Indian billionaire on the list. Chairman of one the India's largest telecom company Bharti Airtel, with almost 400 million customers, Mittal also owns Airtel Payments Bank, a joint venture with Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Anil Ambani
Net worth - $2.7 billion
Global ranking - 887
The younger Ambani scion Anil Ambani, has an empire with interests in financial services, media and infrastructure. Anil Ambani recently agreed to sell his debt-laden Reliance Communication's wireless assets to Reliance Jio, owned by his brother Mukesh Ambani, for an estimated $3 billion.
Vinod & Anil Rai Gupta
Net worth - $2.2 billion
Global ranking - 1103
This mother and son duo run one of the India's largest electrical equipment company, Havells India. The company makes everything from electrical and lighting fixtures to fans, refrigerators and washing machines.
NR Narayana Murthy
Net worth - $2.1 billion
Global ranking - 1157
Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy ranks next on the list. Murthy stepped down as chairman of the software giant in the year 2011. He was recently in news after 'bitter spat' with former Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka. The resignation of Sikka led to a management shakeup in the company leading to the return of co-founder Nandan Nilekani as non-executive chairman.
Nandan Nilekani
Net worth - $1.9 billion
Global ranking - 1284
Another Infoscian on the list is Nandan Nilekani. One of the Infosys' co-founders, Nilekani left Infosys in the year 2009. However, he was brought back as non-executive chairman in August 2017 after a boardroom shakeup at the company. He is also credited of being the architect of India's identity card scheme Aadhaar.
Senapathy Gopalakrishnan
Net worth - $1.8 billion
Global ranking - 1339
Next on the list is another co-founder of the IT giant Infosys, Senapathy Kris Gopalakrishnan. Gopalakrishnan retired from the company in the year 2014 and since then has held various positions during his tenure including that of CEO and vice-chairman. Since then, he has invested in almost 63 startups, including 17 companies through his business incubator Axilor Ventures.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Net worth - $1.7 billion
Global ranking - 1394
Founder of the digital wallet company Paytm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma owns 16% of Paytm, which according to Forbes is now valued at $9.4 billion. Paytm has been the biggest beneficiary of demonetisation announced by the Union government in November 2016. The company claims to have 250 million registered users and process 7 million transactions daily.
K Dinesh
Net worth - $1.4 billion
Global ranking - 1650
The next on the list too is an Infosys co-founder, K Dinesh. Dinesh stepped down from the company's board in 2011 and has since devoted himself to philanthropy.
Dinesh Nandwana
Net worth - $1.4 billion
Global ranking - 1650
At No. 1650, along with K Dinesh, is Dinesh Nandwana. He is the CEO and managing director of e-governance services company Vakrangee Ltd that has 38,000-plus outlets.
SD Shibulal
Net worth - $1.2 billion
Global ranking - 1867
Last on this list is another Infosys co-founder SD Shibulal who stepped down as the company's CEO in 2014, but still holds a small stake in the company. With his former Infosys colleague Senapathy Gopalakrishnan, Shibulal co-founded business incubator Axilor Ventures.
