The number of Indians on the Forbes billionaire list rose to 101 from 84 in 2016, and Fakhri Ahmadov, managing director at Ahmadoff & Company, a U.K. based wealth advisory firm, says, “Eevery 33 days brought a new Indian billionaire to the list last year.”
Forbes says India had 36 billionaires in 2005; 55 billionaires in 2010; and by 2016 India added 46 billionaires or roughly eight new one-percents per year since 2011. Between 2005 and 2016, India’s economy rose 170% while the world economy gained around 30%.
The healthcare and pharmaceuticals sectors added 10 business founders to the FORBES billionaires list in the last seven years, more than any industry in India. Retail added another seven billionaires during that period, Ahmadov said in a report dated April 8.
The reasons for this phenomenon are:
- Fast economic growth in consumer retail goods
- Redistribution of wealth along billionaire family lines
- Increased penetration of the banking system
- Increase foreign direct investment both in the physical economy and corporate equity
