Mukesh Ambani richest Indian with wealth of $21 billion: Forbes

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani is the country's richest man with a personal fortune of $21 billion, according to Forbes Magazine. Mukesh Ambani beats steel giant Lakshmi Mittal and Wipro head Azim Premji to top the Forbes's list. Lakshmi Mittal has attained the second spot with $16 billion and the third spot goes to Azim Premji.

Mukesh Ambani has retained his position as the world's richest Indian for the fifth year in a row, although his networth declined by $1.6 billion to $21 billion but remained well above that of the second-ranked Lakshmi Mittal. Steel baron Mittal's networth also fell by $3 billion at $6 billion, making him the second richest, as per global business magazine Forbes' annual ranking of 100 wealthiest Indians, released on Thursday.

Ambani, who heads energy-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries group, and Mittal were followed by IT czar Azim Premji ($12.2 billion), construction major and Tata group's major shareholder Shapoorji Pallonji group patriarch Pallonji Mistry ($9.8 billion) and drugmaker Sun Pharma's Dilip Shanghvi ($9.2 billion) in the top-five.

Mukesh Ambani beats steel giant Lakshmi Mittal and Wipro head Azim Premji to top the Forbes\'s list.

Mukesh's younger brother Anil Ambani, who heads telecom-to-infrastructure conglomerate Reliance Group, was ranked 11th with a networth of $6 billion. Others in top-10 ranking include Adi Godrej at 6th position ($9 billion), followed by Savitri Jindal ($8.2 billion), Shashi & Ravi Ruia ($8.1 billion), Hinduja Brothers ($8 billion) and Kumar Mangalam Birla ($7.8 billion).

Even as the networth of top-ranked persons like Ambani and Mittal fell, the collective wealth of India's richest 100 rose by 3.7 per cent ($9 billion) to $250 billion in the past one year, Forbes said. The number of billionaires also rose to 61, from 57 last year. Sun Pharma group's Shanghvi entered the top-five for the first time.

(With additional inputs from PTI)

Also See

• Forbes rich list: The top 10 richest in India

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