Ever wonder who’s steering the massive ship of the Indian economy? These are the real-life tycoons—the richest Indians—whose colossal fortunes and massive empires impact nearly every sector, from your mobile network to the food you buy at the supermarket.
This exclusive look at India’s wealthiest individuals is based on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025, with wealth figures calculated up to September 30, 2025. It’s a fascinating mix of inherited legacy and hard-charging self-made billionaires who are dominating the global market.
The Top Tier: Ambani, Adani, and HCL’s Leader
Leading the charge, once again, is Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, with a staggering net worth of around $115.1 Billion. While he inherited the initial business from his father, the legendary Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh is credited with transforming it from an oil and gas major into a massive conglomerate covering retail (Reliance Retail) and telecom (Jio), completely reshaping the digital landscape of India. He has effectively built upon a foundation to create a modern industrial behemoth.
Jostling for the top spot is Gautam Adani and his family, a textbook definition of a self-made billionaire with an estimated net worth of about $98.1 Billion. Adani started his journey in the late 1980s as a commodity trader before venturing into ports and infrastructure. Today, his Adani Group is a powerhouse in energy, logistics, and power generation, proving that colossal fortunes can still be built from the ground up in modern India.
Breaking into the top three is Roshni Nadar Malhotra (net worth: ~$34.2 Billion), the Chairperson of HCL Technologies. As the wealthiest woman in India, Roshni inherited the technology empire from her father, Shiv Nadar, and has been instrumental in driving the global IT giant’s strategic vision.
Pharma, Finance, and Retail Giants
The remaining top spots showcase the sheer diversity of India’s wealth:
Cyrus S Poonawalla (~$29.7 Billion): Serum Institute of India. He built the company into the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer—a key player in global healthcare, a legacy built on a foundation started by his father.
Kumar Mangalam Birla (~$28.0 Billion): Aditya Birla Group. Inherited wealth, brilliantly diversified across sectors like cement, metals, and telecom.
Niraj Bajaj (~$28.0 Billion): Bajaj Group. Inherited control of one of India’s most respected industrial houses, famed for auto manufacturing and finance.
Dilip Shanghvi (~$27.7 Billion): Sun Pharmaceutical Industries. A true self-made story, he started with a small loan and turned Sun Pharma into one of the world’s largest generic drug makers.
Azim Premji (~$26.6 Billion): Wipro. Known for his philanthropy, he successfully pivoted his family’s cooking oil company into an IT services giant, making him largely self-made in the tech sphere.
Gopichand Hinduja (~$22.3 Billion): Hinduja Group. An inherited international conglomerate spanning vehicles, banking, and energy.
Radhakishan Damani (~$22.0 Billion): Avenue Supermarts (DMart). A self-made retail and investment genius who built his low-cost DMart chain into a massive success.
The M3M Hurun Rich List 2025 emphasizes that a majority of India’s billionaires are self-made. Their journeys prove that innovation and strategic foresight in sectors like tech, finance, pharma, and retail are the new engines driving wealth in the dynamic Indian economy.
