Roving Periscope: In wealth-shift, Mumbai dislodges Beijing as Asia’s billionaire hub
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Wealth is power and when wealth shifts from one country or region to another, power also shifts.
According to a Hurun Global Rich report, Mumbai overtook Beijing as Asia’s billionaire hub in 2023. India added 94 new billionaires last year, the most for any country worldwide after the USA.
“Surpassing all but the United States, India’s unprecedented billionaire boom propels Mumbai past Beijing, crowning it as Asia’s billionaire epicenter. Yet, as we stand on the brink of revolutions in electric vehicles, space technology, and AI (artificial intelligence), India’s startup ecosystem is just beginning to unveil its potential.
“The next decade holds a clear message: overlooking the Indian narrative is a risk no visionary can afford. The Hurun Global Rich List doesn’t just track wealth; it signals a pivotal shift in the global power structure,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder, and Chief Researcher of Hurun India, in a statement on Tuesday.
India now has 271 billionaires vis-à-vis China’s 814.
This significant shift is happening when the South Asian nation is all set to become the world’s third-largest economy in this decade.
In 2023, India added 94 new billionaires, taking the country’s total to 271 and forming a cohort that has a combined wealth of USD 1 trillion.
Hurun Global Rich List’s wealth calculations are a snapshot for the year ending January 15, 2024. It is the 13th edition of the ranking.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is the only Indian to rank in the Top 10 names in the ‘2024 Hurun Global Rich List’, a ranking of US dollar billionaires. Ambani, 66, is placed 10th, dropping one rank despite his wealth rising 40 percent to USD 115 billion in the period the report tracked. Currently, he is Asia’s richest person.
Next to him is Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, ranking 15th. At 61, he has a net worth of USD 86 billion, recording a USD 33 billion surge in wealth attributed to a rally in his companies’ shares.
Amid a booming stock market, India had a “super strong year” to add 94 new billionaires, the most for any country after the United States. Dominant Indian industries include pharmaceuticals (39 billionaires), automobile and auto components (27), and chemicals (24). The new billionaires’ average age was 67.
Mumbai was the fastest-growing billionaire capital in the world, adding 26 such persons in the report’s year and taking it to third rank in the world. It is now Asia’s billionaire capital. New Delhi broke into the top 10 for the first time. Palm Beach, Istanbul, Mexico City, and Melbourne also entered the Hurun Top 30 cities.
The ‘2024 Hurun Global Rich List’ underscores India’s ascension as a future economic titan, poised to secure its place as the world’s third-largest economy, said the Hurun statement.
Tesla’s Chief Executive Elon Musk, 52, topped the global billionaire list with a total wealth of USD 231 billion, followed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 60, with a net worth of USD 185 billion.
Pop superstar Taylor Swift, 34, also joined the billionaire club with wealth valued at 1.2 billion. Over half her fortune came from royalties and touring, including USD 190 million from the Eras tour’s first leg and USD 35 million from its concert film. The rest is buoyed by her music catalog’s value, notably after her first six albums were sold to Shamrock Capital for USD 300 million in 2020.
