New Delhi: India has once again retained the third position in the global billionaires ranking, according to the Hurun India Global Rich List 2026. Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani continues to be the richest person in India as well as Asia and ranks 17th globally. The Ambani family’s wealth grew by 9 percent compared to last year, reaching ₹9.8 lakh crore. The report noted that Indian entrepreneurs are increasingly competing with global players across various sectors.
The report also highlighted the rapid growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, which is creating a new wave of billionaires worldwide. At present, 114 billionaires globally are associated with AI companies. For the first time in history, the number of individuals with wealth exceeding $1 billion has reached 4,020 worldwide. Among them, India accounts for 308 billionaires. The combined wealth of Indian billionaires has grown by 10 percent over the past year to ₹112.6 lakh crore, with 24 new Indian billionaires joining the list.
Globally, China has topped the list with 1,110 billionaires, overtaking the United States, which now stands in second place with 1,000 billionaires. India remains third with 308 billionaires. Over the past year, 578 new billionaires were added globally to the Hurun list. In India alone, 57 new billionaires entered the ranking, while 27 who were part of the list last year dropped out.
City-wise, Mumbai leads the country with the highest number of billionaires at 95, followed by Delhi with 64 and Bengaluru with 30. Women have also made their mark among India’s wealthiest individuals, with 23 women billionaires whose combined wealth is estimated at ₹9.8 lakh crore. The average age of Indian billionaires stands at 67 years, while OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal, aged 32, has emerged as the youngest Indian billionaire with a net worth of ₹14,440 crore.
On the global stage, Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk retained the position of the world’s richest person for the fifth time in six years, with his wealth rising 89 percent to $792 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos secured the second position with $300 billion, while Alphabet co-founder Larry Page ranked third with $271 billion. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang entered the global top ten billionaires for the first time, with wealth estimated at $172 billion, driven by the rapid expansion of the AI industry.
In India, after Mukesh Ambani, the Gautam Adani family ranked second with wealth of ₹7.5 lakh crore, followed by the family of HCLTech Chairperson Roshni Nadar with ₹3.2 lakh crore. Serum Institute founder Cyrus Poonawalla and Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla secured the fourth and fifth positions respectively. Among Telugu billionaires, Divi’s Laboratories Chairman Murali Divi emerged as the richest, followed by industrialists such as P.P. Reddy and P.V. Krishna Reddy of Megha Engineering and Infrastructure, along with several others from sectors including infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and real estate. The list also featured personalities from diverse fields, including Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and entrepreneurs from education, pharma and technology sectors.