Mumbai overtakes Beijing to become Asia’s new billionaire capital

New Delhi: Mumbai has surpassed Beijing to emerge as Asia's new billionaire capital while India has overtaken Germany to become the third-ranked country globally with 271 billionaires, according to the latestHurun Research Institutereport.

"Mumbai was the fastest-growing billionaire capital in the world, adding 26 in the year and taking it to third in the world and Asia's billionaire capital. New Delhi broke into the Top 10 for the first time," the report states.

India's economic prowess was further underscored by the remarkable surge in its billionaire population. The country added a staggering 94 new billionaires, the highest of any nation except the United States, bringing the total to 271 ultra-high-net-worth individuals. This surge, the highest since 2013, is a testament to the soaring confidence in the Indian economy, as noted by Rupert Hoogewerf, the institute's chairman and chief researcher.

Indian billionaires' cumulative wealth reached US$1 trillion, surpassing China's average wealth per billionaire (US$3.2 billion vs US$3.8 billion), the 2024 Hurun Global Rich List report states.

The report highlights that industry-wise the pharmaceutical sector leads the pack with 39 billionaires, followed by the automobile and auto components industry (27), and the chemicals sector (24).

Collectively, the wealth of Indian billionaires amounts to a phenomenal $1 trillion, accounting for 7 per cent of the global billionaire wealth, reflecting the country’s substantial economic influence.

The rise of startups, particularly in the booming Artificial Intelligence (AI) space, is a significant contributor as well. This trend aligns with the global focus on AI, which emerged as the biggest driver of wealth creation, generating over half of all new wealth this year.

With a young, tech-savvy population and a growing focus on innovation, India is well-positioned to capitalise on this AI revolution, potentially fuelling the creation of even more billionaires in the coming years, the report added.

Leading the Indian billionaire list is Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, with a staggering net worth of $115 billion. Closely following is Gautam Adani, the founder of the Adani Group energy conglomerate, with assets valued at $86 billion, marking a $33 billion surge in wealth attributed to a rally in his companies' shares.

While India's billionaire population soared, China witnessed a decline, with the report stating, "China had a bad year. HK was down 20 per cent, Shenzhen down 19 per cent, and Shanghai down 7 per cent."

This downturn can be attributed to the crisis in the country’s real estate and volatile stock market problems in the renewable energy sectors.