Gautam Adani, chairman of the Ahmedabad-headquartered Adani Group, is building India’s largest real estate business, an insight from the 2026 GROHE – Hurun India Real Estate 150 shows. According to the report, Adani Properties, led by Pranav Adani and Rajesh Adani, was the biggest gainer in the 2026 GROHE – Hurun India Real Estate 150, adding ₹38,000 crore to reach a valuation of ₹90,400 crore.
The staggering 73% surge in wealth helped Gautam Adani and family claim the No.1 spot for the first time on the GROHE-Hurun India Real Estate Rich List, overtaking DLF’s Rajiv Singh and family. The Gujarat-based realty group managed this phenomenal growth despite a weak year for the Indian realty. However, despite a 29% correction in value over the year, Gurugram-based DLF retained its title as India’s most valuable real estate company with a value of INR 1.47 lakh crore.
The cumulative value of companies in the 2026 GROHE – HURUN India Real Estate 150 grew by just 2%, compared to a 14% growth last year, the lowest in the history of the list. This slowdown was accompanied by a 20% decline in the BSE Realty Index. The cumulative value of these companies in the list, however, stands at INR 16.5 Lakh Crore (USD 171 Billion), equivalent to Kuwait’s GDP and more than the combined GDP of Luxembourg and Bahrain.
“The GROHE-Hurun India Real Estate 150 tells the story of a year that cooled rather than cracked. The combined value of the list rose just 2% to ₹16.5 lakh crore, the slowest rise in its history; only 31 of the 151 companies gained value over the year, and DLF, though still the most valuable company on the GROHE-Hurun India Real Estate 150 at ₹1.47 lakh crore, was down 29%. The fact that newcomers, not incumbents, held the line shows where the sector’s momentum has moved,” Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Chief Researcher, Hurun India, said.
“The split within the list is the real signal: the segments tied to what Indians spend rose, while those tied to what developers borrow fell. Residential, nearly half of the GROHE-Hurun India Real Estate 150 at ₹8.13 lakh crore, dropped about 16% as Lodha, Godrej and Prestige retreated, and commercial fell 14% — while the two segments that grew were retail, up 8% and led by Phoenix Mills, and hospitality, up to ₹2.85 lakh crore, lifted by Prism (OYO) and the newly listed ITC Hotels,” he added.
Prism stands out as the hospitality story of the year
Prism (OYO), founded by Ritesh Agarwal, is the standout hospitality story of the year. Operating across 35 countries, PRISM was the second-largest gainer in absolute terms, adding INR 34,700 Crore to reach INR 67,200 Crore, surging 107% in value, climbing six places to 5th and entering the Top 10.
Besides Prism (OYO), 22 companies out of the 151 in the list – including Lulu International Shopping Mall and Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India – have a global presence. This number was 3 at the list’s inception 9 years ago.
DLF remains India’s most valuable real estate company
With a value of INR 1.47 Lakh Crore, DLF retains its title as India’s most valuable real estate company.
Lodha Developers, valued at INR 93,700 Crore, and Indian Hotels Company (the Taj Group), valued at INR 93,300 Crore, hold the second and third spots, respectively.
Delhi-based Puri Constructions registered the highest percentage growth in value Y-o-Y, rising 127% to INR 2,500 Crore, while Gurugram’s Pyramid Infratech led on revenue growth, up 348% Y-o-Y.
The residential real estate sector dominates the 2026 GROHE – HURUN India Real Estate 150, accounting for 65% of the companies. It is followed by hospitality (16%), up by 1% and commercial (13%), down by 1%.
Eight non-metro cities now place a company each on the list, worth INR 30,200 crore, led by Kochi’s Lulu International Shopping Mall (INR 10,100 Crore). Lucknow joins the map this year through new entrant Shalimar Corp (INR 3,500 Crore).
Mumbai remains India’s real estate capital with 50 companies worth a cumulative INR 7.32 Lakh Crore, followed by New Delhi (19) and Gurugram and Bengaluru (18 each).
Three companies led by women; Ritesh Agarwal among youngest leaders
Three companies on the list are led by women — Jyotsna Suri of The Lalit (₹3,000 crore), Priya Paul of Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels (₹2,500 crore), and Uma Agarwal of Agarwal Associates Group (₹1,700 crore).
Founded in 2024, Knowledge Realty Trust (₹51,500 crore) is the youngest company on the list, while Indian Hotels Company (₹93,300 crore), established in 1899, is the oldest.
At 32, Ritesh Agarwal of Prism (OYO) and Neetish Sarda of Smartworks Coworking Spaces are the youngest leaders featured in the ranking, while Kapil Bhatia of InterGlobe Hotels, at 93, is the oldest.
The average age of the leaders featured in the 2026 GROHE-HURUN India Real Estate 150 is 60 years, while the average age of the companies has increased to 35 years, up by one year from the previous edition.
NCC is the largest employer on the list, with a workforce of 31,408, and also tops the inaugural CSR rankings with a corporate social responsibility spend of ₹33.3 crore.
The threshold to enter the GROHE – HURUN India Real Estate 150 now stands at INR 1,200 Crore, up from INR 1,000 Crore last year and almost three times the threshold five years ago. Meanwhile, the benchmark for India’s ten wealthiest real estate entrepreneurs has climbed from INR 3,350 Crore in 2017 to INR 20,500 Crore in 2026, a six-fold rise over the decade, and almost double the INR 11,400 Crore threshold of five years ago.