India's Richest 2020: Fortune Favors A Few As Growth Slows

It was a challenging year for the nation’s wealthiest. Under the Narendra Modi-led government, which returned to power for a second term with a thumping majority in May, economic growth slowed to 5%, a six-year low. As consumer demand slumped, sectors such as automobiles and consumer goods announced layoffs and production cuts. To boost sentiment, the government, in September, said it would reduce the corporate tax rate to 22% from 30%.

Despite the turmoil,

a few charged ahead. Mukesh Ambani remains the richest Indian for the 12th year in a row. He added $4.1 billion to his net worth as Jio,

a three-year old telecom unit of his Reliance Industries, became one of India’s biggest mobile carriers with 340 million subscribers.

A $4 billion boost propelled banker Uday Kotak into the top five for the first time The lower tax rate is expected to boost earnings of his Kotak Mahindra Bank, which saw its shares rise 39% since we last measured fortunes.

There are six new faces this year, including Byju Raveendran, the 38-year-old founder of fast-rising edtech unicorn Byju’s; Manohar Lal and Madhusudan Agarwal of Delhi-headquartered Haldiram Snacks; and Rajesh Mehra, whose family owns the popular Jaquar brand of bathroom fittings. Samprada Singh founder of Alkem Laboratories, died in July and his fortune is now listed under his family.