Nearly $70bn combined, Indian-origin billionaires top US immigrant wealth boom

Each of their stories still attempts to convince the world that the ‘American Dream’ is alive and well, despite numerous challenges and setbacks, including the Trump administration’s stringent immigration crackdown, weighing on it.

Indian Americans lead Forbes’ Top Richest US Billionaire Immigrants list

For the second consecutive year, India emerged on top as the birthplace of the most immigrant billionaires. The number has surged to its all-time high of 19, rising from 12 a year ago, with Khosla Ventures’ founder Vinod Khosla. who is now also the new owner of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, and cybersecurity firm Zscaler’s CEO and founder Jay Chaudhry leading the ranks among Indian-American billionaires.

As of July 8, Forbes estimated their net worths at $13.9 billion and $8.2 billion, respectively. When combined with others on the list, their net worths total close to $70 billion.

The sudden surge of Indian-origin billionaires on the Forbes list over the past year is all credited to new additions, including venture capitalist Hemant Taneja, semiconductor company Astera Labs’ co-founders Sanjay Gajendra and Jitendra Mohan, and Palantir’s chief technology officer, Shyam Sankar. Given their entries, India also led the way as the only country that managed to produce more than one billionaire newcomer in 2026.

Ironically, not all of them planned on staying in the US long-term. Most of the India-linked billionaires featured on the list first came to America to pursue higher-educations, but as one thing led to another, they ended up sticking around. As history shows, they have since set precedents for the Indian diaspora abroad, proving that the ‘American Dream’ isn’t, after all, out of reach. 

Meet top 5 Indian-origin leaders on US Richest Immigrants 2026 list

Vinod Khosla

At the No. 14 spot, Sun Microsystems’ co-founder and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla kicks off the Indian-origin leaderboard with an estimated net worth of $13.9 billion, according to Forbes’ July update. Having immigrated to the US from India in 1976, the 71-year-old entrepreneur and his family recently took over the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, with the sale closing in a $9.612 billion deal.

Surpassing the $6.05 billion the Washington Commanders secured following their sale in 2023, the now-completed record NFL purchase is currently the second-highest amount paid for a franchise in North American sports history. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers $10 billion sale in 2025 takes the top spot. In light of the new NFL deal, the Khosla family is in the process of relinquishing its previously acquired minority stake in the San Francisco 49ers.

Jay Chaudhry

As a security software titan, the Zscaler CEO, who came to the US in the ’80s with just $200, enters Forbes’ Richest US Immigrants 2026 lis at #25 with a net worth of $8.2 billion. Emerging from humble beginnings in a Himalayan village in India, which didn’t have electricity or running water, Jay Chaudhry founded Zscaler in 2008. The company made its Nasdaq debut a decade later.

According to Forbes’ September 11 Real Time Net Worth list, his valuation currently stands at $9.4 billion, most of which is credited to him and his family owing around 35% of Zscaler. Before finally hitting it out of the park with his current company, Chaudhry founded four other companies that were all acquired. The Indian-origin businessman and his wife quit their jobs and used all their life savings in 1996 to establish his first startup, cybersecurity firm SecureIT.

Rakesh Gangwal

Then comes the Indian-origin veteran, who co-founded IndiGo with Rahul Bhatia in 2006 with one aircraft. He occupies the No. 42 spot on America’s Richest Immigrants list with a net worth of $5.6 billion. As of September 11, his fortune had surged to $6.1 billion on the Forbes tracker, most of which he owes to IndiGo’s parent outfit, InterGlobe Aviation.

Before making history through IndiGo’s inception, Gangwal started his airline career with United Airlines in 1984. Subsequently, he took on the role of US Airways Group’s CEO and chairman. According to Forbes, he currently lives in Miami and plans on selling his stock in InterGlobe Aviation over the next five years. Last year, he resigned as chairman of Southwest Airlines, but remains on the board.

Romesh Wadhwani

With an estimated net worth of $5.5 billion, as of July, the enterprise AI firm Symphony AI’s chairman and founder enters the US Immigrant Billionaires list at #45. The Karachi-born Romesh Wadhwani was raised in India after the 1947 Partition. As an alum of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Wadhwani went on to receive a PhD in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1972.

Although he stepped down as the company’s CEO four years ago, he also remains the chairman of ConcertAI, an AI company focused on healthcare and life sciences. In addition to founding Symphony AI in 2017, Wadhwani started the software firm Aspect Development. He first started being counted as a member of the billionnaire club in 2000 when i2 Technologies acquired that firm for $9.3 billion in stock.

Kavitark Ram Shriram

With a $4 billion fortune, largely fuelled by his position as an early Google backer, Shriram earns a seat on the Forbes US Richest Immigrants 2026 list at #60. He has since sold most of his stock but is still on the board of Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

Born in India, he initially studied math at the University of Madras. Once he moved to the US, he joined Netscape in 1994 as an executive. The multi-faceted industry veteran later became the president of the online comparison shopping firm Junglee, which was acquired by Amazon in 1998. Thereafter, he earned a promotion in a vice president post at the Jeff Bezos-founded tech giant. Having left Amazon, he has been investing in tech startups through his firm, Sherpalo Ventures, since 2000.

List of all Indian-origin US immigrant billionaires