Forbes Magazine

Hero MotoCorp Chairman and CEO Pawan Munjal is gearing up to dominate India’s two-wheeled EV market, despite being a late entrant into a crowded field that includes competing against his nephew’s company.

Devendra Jain saw his net worth nearly double to $3 billion this year. His privately held Inox Air Products ramped up its medical oxygen production by 520%, when a wave of Covid-19 infections ravaged the country earlier this year.

India’s makers of specialty chemicals, which're used in everything from medicines to mining, benefited from a spurt in demand as customers sought to reduce their dependence on China. The sector's boom produced three new members on the latest India Rich List and boosted the fortunes of five others.

A soaring stock market propelled the nation’s 100 richest to record levels. The benchmark Sensex rose 52% from a year ago. As a result, more than 80% of the listees saw their fortunes rise, with 61 adding $1 billion or more.

Known as India’s Warren Buffett, 61-year-old Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, saw his net worth more than double to $5.5 billion. He recently placed a $35 million bet on Akasa, a new ultra-low-cost airline.

Karsanbhai Patel, whose Nirma is a household name in India’s laundry detergent market, saw his net worth rise to $4.2 billion after the IPO of Nuvoco Vistas–the cement arm of his Nirma Group.

As Cadila Healthcare's world-first DNA vaccine for Covid-19 was approved for emergency use in India, pharma tycoon Pankaj Patel's fortune rose to $6.2 billion.

Edtech entrepreneur Byju Raveendran has snapped up over 10 companies across India, the rest of Asia and the U.S. over the past six years. His Byju's, the world’s most valuable edtech company, is now worth $16 billion.

The chairman of Adani Group, India's second richest person, saw his net worth soar to $74.8 billion since last year’s list.

The October issue of Forbes Asia magazine features the annual list of India’s 100 Richest and the cover story of Hero MotoCorp’s Pawan Munjal–which highlights the opportunity in India and Southeast Asia whose profile is on the rise in the global investment community.