Real Estate Adds Zing to M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 as Ambani Regains His Top Spot

Mumbai, October 3, 2025: Twenty-four new billionaires figure in the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025, the 14th year of the list that saw Mukesh Ambani reclaim the top spot, followed by Gautam Adani and Roshni Nadar Malhotra. Real estate has bettered its mark this time, with 99 names from the industry, including 23 debutants.

Across 91 cities, 1,687 individuals (up by 148) have INR 1,000 crore in the list; 1,004 individuals saw their wealth increase or stay the same, of which 284 are new faces, whilst 643 saw their wealth drop, and there were 139 dropouts. India has now 358 billionaires, up 24 compared to last year. While Jewellery, Construction & Engineering added the most significant number of new entrants to the list, Pharmaceuticals is still at number one and has contributed 137 entrants to the list. The youngest on the list is aged 22. The Sensex gained 22 per cent during the period, climbing from 59,000 to 72,000 points, even as the INR depreciated 7 per cent against the dollar.

Commenting on the launch, M3M India Promoter & Chairperson & Trustee of M3M Foundation Payal Kanodia said, “The M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 stands as a testament to India’s extraordinary journey of wealth creation capturing the visionaries who embody innovation, entrepreneurship, and resilience across diverse industries. At M3M India, we are honoured to partner with Hurun India in celebrating not merely wealth, but the ambition and determination that truly define the Indian growth story.

“Real estate, long regarded as one of the most trusted avenues of wealth creation, has reaffirmed its dynamism in this year’s list. The sector has emerged as one of the most vibrant contributors, with 99 leaders making their mark—including 23 debutants entering the ranks for the first time. Collectively, the sector has added an impressive INR 8.72 lakh crore (USD 95.7 billion) in wealth. Significantly, representation has grown from 91 entrants in 2024 to 99 in 2025, underscoring real estate’s resilience and expanding role in shaping India’s future.

“What excites me most this year is the significant rise in self-made entrepreneurs underscoring the emergence of first-generation wealth creators who are reshaping the industry. Equally important is the spotlight on women leaders, a much-needed recognition in what has long been a male-dominated sector. Together, these figures highlight the sector’s resilience, diversity, and entrepreneurial spirit, reaffirming real estate as a cornerstone of India’s wealth creation story. The leaders featured in the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 are not merely successful entrepreneurs—they are true nation-builders, whose contributions extend beyond business to impact communities and inspire future generations.”

Commenting on the launch, Founder and Chief Researcher of Hurun India Anas Rahman Junaid said, “The M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 reflects a mood of energetic progress tempered by caution. The cumulative wealth of India’s richest climbed to INR 167 lakh crore, with 1,044 individuals gaining wealth versus 643 losing, showing that the wealth-creation engine remains strong. The surge came from tech, industrial products, automobiles, infrastructure, jewellery and real estate, powered by domestic dema nd, policy-driven manufacturing growth, and a vibrant stock market. India now has 358 dollar-billionaires, up from 200 five years ago, together holding wealth equal to nearly half of India’s GDP. Optimism is reflected in the rise of first-generation founders, regional hubs beyond metros, and new-age sectors reshaping the economy.

“Headwinds — such as energy-sector erosion, global commodity volatility, high borrowing costs, governance scrutiny, the slide in Gautam Adani’s fortunes, the decline in Mukesh Ambani’s net worth, pharma’s post-pandemic cooling, corrections in select FMCG stocks, and valuation pressures on late-stage startups tempered exuberance. Even so, a record 66 per cent of the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 is self-made, and 74 per cent of new entrants are first-generation entrepreneurs, with wealth now spread across 91 cities. The list reflects an economy that is dynamic yet mindful of global volatility, celebrating broad-based progress while navigating the bumps of a maturing market.

“The M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 chronicles India’s shift from a services-centric past to a deep-tech, product-led powerhouse. The debut of Aravind Srinivas, 31, founder of Perplexity, as the youngest billionaire, underscores this transformation — his wealth stems from building a foundational AI model competing globally.

“The meteoric rise of Zepto’s co-founders, Kaivalya Vohra, 22, and Aadit Palicha, 23, highlights how technology and innovation are compressing wealth-creation timelines. India’s wealth story is now about speed, disruption and home-grown “brains” with global impact.”

“Sectors such as Industrial Products, Real Estate and Auto Components — which brought the highest number of new entrants to the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 — benefitted from PLI schemes, infra-capex and industrial strategies. The 43 per cent wealth surge of Niraj Bajaj, the list’s biggest gainer, exemplifies the synergy of public policy and private enterprise. The list serves as a real-time scorecard of Atmanirbhar Bharat, driving a domestic growth engine more resilient to global volatility.”

“The Top 10 richest on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 hold 27 per cent of total wealth, able to power nation-building projects, while the base of wealth is rapidly broadening — individuals worth over INR 1,000 crore havemore than doubled in five years, with representation rising to 91 cities from just 10 at inception. This ‘scaling-up and spreading-out’ dynamic is a blueprint for an inclusive and resilient economy.

“For the first time, a woman entered the Top 3 of the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 — Roshni Nadar Malhotra debuted at No. 3, symbolising the multi-generational power of tech-driven wealth. She joins 100 other women on the list, including 26 dollar-billionaires and self-made icons such as Falguni Nayar and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, proving women are now central catalysts in unlocking India’s economic potential.

“A record 66 per cent — 1,115 individuals — on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 are self-made, up from 55 per cent five years ago; 74 per cent of 284 new entrants built fortunes from scratch. The start-up boom has become the primary engine of new wealth creation, reshaping not just fortunes but also India’s economic fabric.

“Plain-gold jewellers on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 added about INR 89,000 crore in combined wealth, fuelled by a record wedding season, rising incomes, and branded gold, still 78 per cent of India’s jewellery market. In contrast, diamond-sector entrants lost nearly INR 12,000 crore, with only 8 per cent seeing gains, as the export-driven trade slumped 17 per cent in FY 2025 to a two-decade low, hit by weak global luxury demand, price swings, and cheaper lab-grown stones costing 30–40 per cent less.

“The combined wealth on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 stands at INR 167 lakh crore — nearly half of India’s GDP — with 358 dollar-billionaires, up from just 59 in 2012 and 200 billionaires five years ago. Wealth creation is increasingly borderless, with Jayshree Ullal in Silicon Valley, Industrial stalwarts in London and Dubai, and new Gulf billionaires linking global capital back to India. Mumbai remains the billionaire capital with 451 entrants, but Bengaluru at 116, Hyderabad at 102, Chennai at 94, and Pune at 66 show decentralisation of wealth hubs. Sector-wise, Pharmaceuticals leads with 137 listers, followed by Industrial Products at 132, Chemicals & Petrochemicals at 125, Software & Services at 110 and Real Estate at 99, and a fast-emerging Biotech sector — a spread that makes India’s wealth engine more diverse and resilient.

“The cut-off for the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 fell from INR 1,800 crore a decade ago to INR 1,000 crore, enabling the capture of local heroes from smaller towns — now 91 cities represented versus 10 at inception. We estimate that around 6,000 individuals in India today have a net worth above INR 1,000 crore. Nearly 60 per cent of the list is on the cusp of inter-generational transition, with globally educated heirs and professional managers poised to spark a renaissance in long-standing companies.

“In just over a decade, the entry bar for the Top 10 richest on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 jumped 494 per cent, from INR 30,800 crore in 2012 to INR 1.83 lakh crore in 2025. The Top 100 threshold rose 1,577 per cent, from INR 1,800 crore to INR 30,190 crore. The club expanded 1,582 per cent, from 100 individuals in 2012 to 1,687 in 2025; those worth above INR 5,000 crore rose nine-fold from 61 to 579, and those above INR 1,800 crore grew from 100 to 1,216. The billionaire count soared six-fold from 59 in 2012 to 358 in 2025, showcasing the turbo-charged energy of Indian entrepreneurs and investors reshaping industries, creating jobs, and expanding India’s global economic footprint.

“Assuming that for every one Hurun rich lister we have found, we have probably missed two, India today likely has 6,000 individuals worth INR 1,000 crore.”

Highlights

• M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 Finds 1,687 Individuals with wealth of INR 1,000 Crore, adding 284 New Entrants; up by 148 compared to last year and up by 859 compared to 5 years ago.
• The M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 listers added wealth at a pace of INR 1,991 crore a day.
• India has created a new billionaire every week for two years.
• With a wealth of INR 9.55 Lakh Crore (USD 105Bn), Mukesh Ambani (68) & family is the riches Indian, reclaiming the top spot in the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025.
• Gautam Adani (63) & family hold the second spot on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 with a INR 8.15 lakh crore wealth.
• Historic First for Women: Roshni Nadar Malhotra (44) & family debut in the Top 3 with a wealth of INR 2.84 lakh crore, becoming India’s richest woman and securing third place on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025. Roshni Nadar is also the youngest in the top 10.
• Chennai-born Aravind Srinivas (31), founder of Perplexity, makes his debut as a billionaire on the 2025 M3M Hurun India Rich List with a wealth of INR 21,190 crore. He is also the youngest billionaire on the list.
• Niraj Bajaj (70) & family saw their wealth jump 43 per cent to INR 2.33 lakh crore, climbing four spots to 6th on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025.
• In absolute terms, Niraj Bajaj & family of Bajaj Group led the list, adding a staggering INR 69,875 crore, taking their wealth to INR 2.33 lakh crore.
• The combined wealth of the top 10 in the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 equals 28 per cent of the rest of the list; Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani’s wealth alone accounts for 12 per cent of overall wealth.
• The cumulative wealth of the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 is INR 167 Lakh Crore, representing a 5 per cen YoY increase, greater than Spain’s GDP and equivalent to nearly half of India’s GDP.
• The average wealth of M3M Hurun India Rich Listers declined to INR 9,850 crore from INR 10,320 crore, driven by tariff headwinds and geopolitical tensions.
• Top 10 Bar Rises: The entry threshold for the Top 10 has surged to INR 1.83 lakh crore, up from INR 1.63 lakh crore, making it tougher than ever for newcomers to break into the elite ranks.
• Top 10 get younger: average age drops to 69—three years younger than last year.
• The M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 features 97 startup founders—including 46 new entrants— and 12 founders from publicly listed startups.
• India added 58 new billionaires this year, more than one billionaire a week!
• Vijay Shekhar Sharma (46), founder of Paytm, regains billionaire status with a wealth of INR 15,930 crore, driven by a 124 per cent surge in Paytm’s share price.
• ‘Bollywood’s Badshah’ Shah Rukh Khan (59), joins the billionaire club for the first time with a wealth of INR 12,490 Crore.
• The youngest entrant on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 is 22-year-old Kaivalya Vohra of Zepto, the $5.9Bn quick commerce startup. His co-founder, 23-year-old Aadit Palicha, is the second youngest entrant.
• 1,044 increased their wealth – 284 new faces, from 29 Industries.
• 643 saw their wealth decline, and 139 dropouts in the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025.
• With 451 Individuals, Mumbai tops the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025, followed by New Delhi (223) and Bengaluru (116).
• 101 women entrants in the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025, including 26 dollar billionaires.
• At 96, Deepak Mehta & family and Milan Mehta & family (Precision Wires India), Hanwantbir Kaur Sahney & family (NRB Bearings), Jyotindra Bhagwanlal Mody (J.B. Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals), Keki Hormusji Gharda & family (Gharda Chemicals), and Nihchal H. Israni & family (Blue Cross Labs) are the veteran entrants on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025.
• A record 1,115 entrepreneurs—66 per cent of the list—are self-made, up from 1,008 last year and 55 per cent five years ago. Notably, 74 per cent of this year’s new entrants are also self-made.
• Pharmaceuticals led the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 with 137 entrants, spearheaded by Cyrus S Poonawalla & family, followed by Industrial Products (132) and Chemicals & Petrochemicals (125).
• Eighteen individuals on the list are now worth over INR 1 lakh crore, six more than last year; a decade ago, there were only two.
• Biotech had a standout year, emerging as one of the strongest performing sectors in the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025, driven by innovation and global demand.
• Bottlers’ performance in the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 was affected by margin pressure and softer volumes across the category.
• Garima Sawhney (39), co-founder of Pristyn Care, is the youngest self-made woman on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025.
• Sixteen professional managers are featured on the list. Jayshree Ullal (64), CEO of Arista Networks, is the richest at INR 50,170 crore; the richest India-based CEO is Ignatius Navil Noronha (50) of Avenue Supermarts, at INR 6,570 crore.
• Sixty-five unicorn founders—along with 13 Gazelle founders and 5 Cheetah founders—from the Hurun India Unicorn & Future Unicorn List 2025 also feature in the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025.
• Twenty individuals born in the 1990s feature in the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025, seven more than last year.
• The average age of individuals on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 is 65; the average age of women is also 65.
• Star Signs: Gemini leads the list with 9.53 per cent, represented by Kumar Mangalam Birla & family, LN Mittal & family and Rahul Bhatia & family. In terms of annual wealth growth, Aries takes the top spot with a 17 per cent increase in wealth.