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Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani reclaimed the top spot in the Forbes list of India's 10 richest billionaires with a net worth of 84.5 billion dollars.
Ambani was followed by Adani Group chief Gautam Adani and HCL founder Shiv Nadar. Put together, the three richest Indians added just over 100 billion dollars, as per Forbes. Forbes also said that the total number of Indian billionaires rose to 140 this year from 102 last year and their combined wealth nearly doubled to 596 billion dollars. Mukesh Ambani, who is also Asia's richest person, diversified his oil and gas empire and dived into sectors such as telecom and retail, which resulted in him retaining the top position. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Ambani accomplished a fund-raising feat, garnering 35 billion dollars through a string of deals to achieve his target of reducing his flagship Reliance Industries' net debt to zero by 2021. Gautam Adani, an infrastructure tycoon, got 42 billion dollars richer as shares of his companies Adani Enterprises and Adani Green Energy soared. Adani unseated Radhakishan Dhamani who was previously the second-richest Indian. Forbes said that Adani's wealth increased five-fold since 2020. Adani acquired a 74 per cent stake in Mumbai International Airport, the country's second-busiest, last September. He also sold 20 per cent in his listed renewables firm, Adani Green Energy, to French energy giant Total for 2.5 billion dollars. In the top ten richest Indians list, two Indians featured who earned their spot owing to investments in the healthcare sector which has witnessed a boost owing to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. These two are: Cyrus Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries' Dilip Shanghavi. (ANI)
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