MAM
Big gains for some on 2019 forbes india rich list despite challenging year
Amid a challenging year for the economy, the total wealth of the tycoons on the 2019 Forbes India Rich List shrank 8% to US$452 billion from a year ago. More than half of India’s 100 richest saw a decline in their net worth. The complete list is available at www.forbes.com/india and www.forbesindia.com. The list can also be found in the Special issue of Forbes Asia and the December issue of Forbes India.
Despite a slowing economy, some tycoons saw big gains to their fortunes. Mukesh Ambani remains India’s richest for the 12th consecutive year, with $51.4 billion in wealth. He added $4.1 billion to his net worth as Jio, the three-year old telecom unit of his Reliance Industries, became one of India’s biggest mobile carriers with 340 million subscribers.
Another big gainer was infrastructure tycoon Gautam Adani, who jumps eight spots to No. 2 this year with a net worth of $15.7 billion. After a nine-year wait, Adani secured permission in June to start work on an Australian coal mine. He has also ventured into a slew of new businesses from airports to data centers.
The Hinduja brothers are ranked at No. 3 this year with a net worth of $15.6 billion, while Pallonji Mistry ranks No. 4 with $15 billion. A $4 billion boost propelled banker Uday Kotak into the top five for the first time with a net worth of $14.8 billion. Shares of his Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 39% in the past year.
Naazneen Karmali, Asia Wealth Editor and India Editor of Forbes Asia, said: "While India's slowing economy took a toll on the combined wealth of the nation's 100 richest this year, there were some who defied the odds to charge ahead. Resilience is the hallmark of Indian entrepreneurs and they have the capacity to take setbacks in their stride. It won't be long before they bounce back."
There are four returnees to this year list. They include Mofatraj Munot (No. 75, $1.85 billion) of Kalpataru, Rajju Shroff (No. 87, $1.69 billion) of UPL, as well as K. Dinesh (No. 89, $1.61 billion) and S.D. Shibulal (No. 100, $1.4 billion) cofounders of Infosys.
Six newcomers made their debut on this year’s list. They are the Singh family (No. 41, $3.18 billion), who inherited the fortune of pharma magnate Samprada Singh, founder of Alkem Laboratories, who died in July this year; Byju Raveendran (No. 72, $1.91 billion), the 38-year-old founder of fast-rising edtech unicorn Byju’s; Mahendra Prasad (No. 81, $1.77 billion) of Aristo Pharmaceuticals; Manohar Lal and Madhusudan Agarwal (No. 86, $1.7 billion) of Delhi-headquartered Haldiram Snacks; Rajesh Mehra (No. 95, $1.5 billion), whose family owns the popular sanitary ware brand Jaquar, and Sandeep Engineer (No. 98, $1.45 billion) of Astral Poly Technik.
Brian Carvalho, Editor of Forbes India, said: “It’s been a challenging economic year with notable changes in the list, but the good news is that we are still seeing the emergence of new billionaires with contemporary business models.”
More than a third of the decline in total wealth of India’s 100 richest was due to generous tech tycoon Azim Premji, who gave away a chunk of his fortune in March and consequently dropped in the ranks to No. 17 from No. 2 with a net worth of $7.2 billion.
Several fortunes linked to autos and consumer goods suffered from weak consumer sentiment. About a tenth of the listees this year are automotive tycoons, who are bearing the brunt of an industry slump. Autoparts maker Vivek Chaand Sehgal’s net worth more than halved to $2.45 billion as shares of his Motherson Sumi Systems fell 61% on slowing demand in Indian and global auto markets. He ranks at No. 52 on this year’s list.
The minimum amount required to make this year’s list was $1.4 billion, down from $1.48 billion last year.
The top 10 richest in India are:
1) Mukesh Ambani; US$51.4 billion
2) Gautam Adani; $15.7 billion
3) Hinduja brothers; $15.6 billion
4) Pallonji Mistry; $15 billion
5) Uday Kotak; $14.8 billion
6) Shiv Nadar; $14.4 billion
7) Radhakishan Damani: $14.3 billion
8) Godrej family; $12 billion
9) Lakshmi Mittal; $10.5 billion
10) Kumar Birla; $9.6 billion
This list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and India’s regulatory agencies. The ranking lists family fortunes, including those shared among extended families such as the Godrej and Bajaj families. Public fortunes were calculated based on stock prices and exchange rates as of September 27. Private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
