This Indian university produced more billionaires than IITs or IIMs last year

The University of Mumbai has been ranked 8^th among the world’s top 21 universities producing the highest number of billionaires, becoming India’s only representative in the list, as per an analysis by Venture Capitalist. The findings are based on Salas Diaz & Young’s (2024) dataset, which keeps a track of the educational backgrounds of the world’s wealthiest individuals.

With 22 billionaire alumni, Mumbai University shares the same count as Cornell University (ranked 7^th),  surpassing famous institutions like Tsinghua University (19), New York University (18), and the University of Southern California (17). It is also the only Indian university to be listed in the global top 21. Among the most notable alumni is Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries and Asia’s richest man, a proof of the university’s growing global influence.

Harvard tops the list with 104 billionaires, and Mumbai University joins the elite club 

At the top of the list, Harvard University stands unrivalled with 104 billionaire alumni, followed by Stanford University (69), University of Pennsylvania (38), Columbia University(32), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with 28. Stanford University, with its deep ties to Silicon Valley, counts Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang among its billionaire alumni. The University of Yale University (24) is in the 6^th rank, whereas Cornell University (22) and University of Mumbai (22) follow closely behind. The subsequent slots are held by Tsinghua University (19), New York University (18), University of Southern California, Berkeley (15), and University of Michigan (15).

Stanford University has a deep connection to Silicon Valley, counts Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang among its billionaire alumni. The University of Pennsylvania has produced Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whereas Columbia University has Warren Buffett, the legendary investor behind Berkshire Hathaway, among its renowned graduates. 

Further down the list are Peking University (14), Lomonosov Moscow State University (13), Princeton University (13), and universities with 12 billionaires each-UCLA, University of Chicago, Fudan University, Seoul National University, and Zhejiang University.

While US universities continue to dominate, the inclusion of institutions from India, China, South Korea, and Russia highlights Asia’s growing prominence in global wealth creation.

Asia’s prominence on the global billionaire list 

As per Visual Capitalist, the trend reflects shifting economic power and the rapid surge of innovation-driven industries across the region. For India, Mumbai University’s placement at rank 8^th underlines that entrepreneurial success extends beyond elite technical or management schools.