Hurun Global Rich List 2026 Highlights: India ranks third with 308 billionaires; Adani net worth drops 14%; full list of winners and losers

India is now home to 308 billionaires, ranking third globally after China and the United States, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2026. Globally, the number of billionaires crossed the 4,000 mark for the first time, reaching 4,020 individuals, an increase of 578 from last year. 

As per the report, China leads the list with 1,110 billionaires, followed by the United States with 1,000, while India’s 308 billionaires place it firmly in third position, ahead of countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

India added 24 new billionaires over the year, while the country also recorded 57 new entrants, reflecting strong wealth creation across sectors such as healthcare, industrial products and consumer goods. The combined wealth of Indian billionaires rose to Rs 112.6 lakh crore, growing about 10% year-on-year, the report said.

Top 10 richest Indians

Mukesh Ambani retained his position as India’s richest person and Asia’s wealthiest individual, with a wealth of Rs 9.8 lakh crore, up 9% from last year. Gautam Adani remained the second richest Indian despite a 14% decline in wealth, with a net worth of Rs 7.5 lakh crore.

Roshni Nadar Malhotra of HCL Technologies ranked third with Rs 3.2 lakh crore, making her the only woman in India’s top 10 richest individuals. Cyrus S. Poonawalla of Serum Institute rose to fourth place after his wealth jumped 44% to Rs 3 lakh crore, emerging as the biggest wealth gainer in absolute terms among Indian billionaires. Other billionaires in India’s top 10 include Kumar Mangalam Birla, Dilip Shanghvi, Azim Premji, Niraj Bajaj, Ashok P. Hinduja and Radhakishan Damani.

Why India’s Financial Capital Ranks 6th globally

Mumbai continues to dominate India’s billionaire landscape, with 95 billionaires, making it the country’s richest city. However, globally it ranks sixth among billionaire cities, behind New York, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing and London. New York remains the billionaire capital of the world with 146 billionaires, followed by Shenzhen with 132 and Shanghai with 120.

Global wealth trends

The Hurun list stated that technology and artificial intelligence companies were the biggest drivers of wealth creation globally over the past year. Elon Musk retained his position as the world’s richest person, with wealth surging 89% to $792 billion, driven by the growth of Tesla and SpaceX.

Jeff Bezos ranked second with $300 billion, followed by Alphabet co-founder Larry Page with $271 billion. The list also shows a growing concentration of wealth, with the top 10 billionaires collectively adding $755 billion, accounting for 19% of total new wealth created globally.

The report said that more than 70% of the billionaires on the list were not part of the ranking a decade ago.

Key Takeaways

In India, the healthcare sector produced the highest number of billionaires at 53, followed by industrial products with 36 and consumer goods with 31.

Ritesh Agarwal, founder of OYO, emerged as India’s youngest billionaire at 32, while globally the youngest self-made billionaires are the three 22-year-old founders of AI startup Mercor, the report noted. Furthermore, the report also stated that the number of ultra-wealthy individuals has also surged rapidly, with the ‘11-zero club’, those worth more than $100 billion, growing from zero to 18 members in just eight years.

Artificial intelligence emerged as the single largest driver of new wealth creation, with 114 billionaires now linked to AI companies,the report added. According to the report, Nvidia chief Jensen Huang entered the global top 10 richest individuals for the first time.