Mukesh Ambani lead a top ten dominated by industrial tycoons, including ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal, who came in second with a net worth of USD 19.2 billion.
Kumar Birla, head of the fabrics-to-cement Aditya Birla conglomerate,
Adi Godrej of the Godrej Group and construction tycoon Pallonji Mistry
-- the largest individual shareholder of the Tata Group and
father-in-law to Noel Tata, touted as a likely successor to Ratan Tata
-- are also in the top ten.Many of those companies are benefiting from India's plans to spend USD 1 trillion in the five years to 2017 to overhaul its creaking infrastructure, seen as a barrier to continued economic growth.
Savitri Jindal, head of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, was India's
richest woman, sitting fifth on the list with a net worth of USD 9.5
billion. Jindal was one of only five women on the list of one hundred.
A USD 39 billion telecom scandal, likely India's largest ever graft scam, made its mark on the list, with two accused in the case, Vinod Goenka and Shahid Balwa, falling out of the top 100. Both deny any wrongdoing.
Debutants on the annual list include Kapil Bhatia and his son Rahul,
founders of budget airline IndiGo, and V.G. Siddhartha, whose coffee
shop chain Cafe Coffee Day gave him a net worth of USD 595 million.India's biggest gainer in percentage terms was Brijmohan Lall Munjal, head of two-wheeler HeroMoto Corp, whose net worth rose to USD 2.7 billion in the year his firm ended a 26-year partnership with Japan's Honda Motor.
India's auto industry has seen car sales declining on high interest rates while families of four continue to buy two-wheelers, most of which can be bought without relying on loans.
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