Hundred \\\'billion dollar men\\\' in India

Each of the top 100 earners of India is a billion dollar man. According to an Indian private TV channel, for the first time each of the top 100 wealthiest Indian is worth over US $ 1 billion. Citing an annual survey of Forbes Asia, it said the numbers of the mega rich have nearly doubled in 5 years in India. It said the richest Indians were also worth a third more combined than last year as the country’s stock markets went on a roll with the election of the new government led by Narendra Modi. The TV channel report said Mukesh Ambani topped the list for an 8th straight year with his $23.6b fortune. The wealth of Ambani, chairman of conglomerate Reliance Industries, climbed by $2.6b from last year. Pharmaceutical magnate Dilip Shanghvi is the new No 2 on the list of the top 100 tycoons, displacing London-based steel baron Lakshmi Mittal. Shanghvi’s assets grew by $4.1b to $18b while Indian-born Mittal’s earnings slipped to fifth place at $15.8b. Moving up to third place was Azim Premji, chief of outsourcing giant Wipro, whose fortune climbed by $4.1b to $18b. The leading industrialist falling from the list of the top 100 earners this year is Vijay Mallya, who owes over $1b to a consortium of state-run banks. Mallya, the chairman of United Spirits, controlled by global liquor giant Diageo, was in 84th spot with $800 million on the list of the wealthiest Indians last year.