Mukesh Ambani replaces Lakshmi Mittal as richest Indian

New York, Mar 12 (PTI) Indian petrochemicals giant
Reliance Industries' chief Mukesh Ambani has clinched the
title of the world's richest Indian from Non Resident Indian
(NRI) steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, even as both of them saw
their fortunes dwindle to less than half in a year, US
magazine Forbes has said.

With a net worth of USD 19.5 billion, Mukesh Ambani has
been ranked seventh in the global list, topped by software
czar and Microsoft founder Bill Gates (USD 40 billion).
Mukesh, who has lost more than USD 23 billion, was ranked at
fifth position last year.

Mukesh is followed by Lakshmi Mittal at the eighth place
with a fortune of USD 19.3 billion. Mittal, who has lost over
USD 25 billion in a year, was ranked ahead of Mukesh at the
fourth position in Forbes' 2008 list.

After Mukesh Ambani and Lakshmi Mittal, the next Indian
on the list -- Anil Ambani -- comes far below at the 34th
position with a net worth of USD 10.1 billion. Ambani's rank
has nosedived from the sixth place last year with a loss of
close to USD 32 billion in this period.

Forbes said that Anil Ambani, last year's biggest gainer
in terms of wealth, has emerged as the biggest loser.

K P Singh, who also figured among top 10 last year,
slipped to 98th position with his net worth taking a big hit
of USD 25 billion to just USD 5 billion.

The cumulative wealth of Indian billionaires has been
eroded by USD 180 billion and now stands at about USD 109
billion.

The Indian presence has more than halved (from 53 a year
ago) in the shrinking club of world's billionaires and the
league of 10 richest persons in the world now includes just
two Indians, down from four a year ago.

Interestingly, this year there are four Indians among the
10 biggest losers -- Anil Ambani, Lakshmi Mittal, K P Singh
and Mukesh Ambani -- the same persons who were among the
world's 10 richest last year.

There are, in fact, only two resident Indians among the
50 richest persons in the world, as Mittal is an Indian
citizen, but resides in the UK.

As many as 29 Indians have moved out of the world's
billionaires club. "Among the notable drop-offs are flamboyant
liquor tycoon (Vijay Mallya), India's wind man (Tulsi Tanti)
and a good friend of the country's richest man Mukesh Ambani
(Anand Jain)," Forbes said.

Other high-profile Indian exits include Jet's Naresh
Goyal, Unitech's Ramesh Chandra, Indiabulls' Sameer Gehlaut,
commodity bourse MCX's Jignesh Shah, investment banker Nimesh
Kampani, Gautam Thapar and Gracias Saldanha.

Seven positions among top 100 from across the world are
occupied by Indians -- Mukesh Ambani (7th; USD 19.5 billion),
Lakshmi Mittal (8th; USD 19.3 billion), Anil Ambani (34th; USD
10.1 billion), Sunil Mittal (59th; USD 7.7 billion), Azim
Premji (83rd; USD 5.7 billion), Shashi & Ravi Ruia (86th; 5.6
billion), K P Singh (98th; USD 5 billion).

Besides, the 25 Indians on the global list include Kumar
Mangalam Birla (124th; USD 4.2 billion), Adi Godrej & family
(183rd; USD 3.3 billion), Dilip Shanghvi (205th; USD 3
billion), Savitri Jindal (234th; USD 2.7 billion), Malvinder &
Shivinder Singh (246th; USD 2.6 billion), Pallonji Mistry
(261st; USD 2.5 billion), G M Rao (318th; USD 2.1 billion) and
Micky Jagtiani (334th; USD 2 billion).

Gautam Adani and Indu Jain are ranked at 397th (USD 1.8
billion), followed by Shiv Nadar (430th; USD 1.7 billion) and
Cyrus Poonawala and Anil Agarwal both at 468th position (USD
1.5 billion each). Besides, Uday Kotak, Kalanithi Maran,
Chandru Raheja all are ranked at 601st place (USD 1.2 billion
each), followed by Subhash Chandra (647th; USD 1.1 billion)
and Anurag Dikshit (701st; USD 1 billion).

The list of 793 billionaires from across the world is
dominated by Americans, two of whom have been ranked at the
top two positions -- Bill Gates and legendary investor
Warren Buffett. PTI RAM
RAI