Mumbai: Recouping the dent caused by the Hindenburg Research report, Gautam Adani's networth shot up 95 per cent to Rs 11.6 lakh crore last year, which helped him replace Mukesh Ambani to become the richest Indian, a report said on Thursday.

Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Ambani's overall networth increased by 25 per cent to Rs 10.14 lakh crore, as per the 2024 Hurun India Rich List.

In 2023's report, Adani's wealth declined by 57 per cent to Rs 4.74 lakh crore, and Ambani was way ahead with a fortune of Rs 8.08 lakh crore.

It can be noted that Adani's networth declined sharply following various allegations levelled by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research. The conglomerate has denied all the allegations.

In the 2014 edition, Hurun had pegged Adani's fortunes at Rs 44,000 crore, which made him the tenth richest Indian then.

Shiv Nadar and family of HCL gained one spot to be the third richest with a networth of Rs 3.14 lakh crore, while Serum Institute of India's Cyrus Poonawalla slipped by one notch to the fourth position with a networth of Rs 2.89 lakh crore in 2024.

Sun Pharmaceuticals' Dilip Shanghvi continued his ascent on the list, securing the fifth richest tag against sixth last year with a networth of Rs 2.50 lakh crore.

Radha Vembu of Zoho was the wealthiest among self-made women with a fortune of Rs 47,500 crore, while Zepto's co-founders Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha, who are in their early 20s, were the youngest on the list with a networth of Rs 3,600 crore and Rs 4,300 crore, respectively.

The list, which captures Indians having a networth of over Rs 1,000 crore, grew by 220 individuals to 1,539 people in 2024. The cumulative wealth has seen a 46 per cent jump in the year.

Actor Shah Rukh Khan made his debut on the list with a fortune estimated at Rs 7,300 crore, which was much higher than business partner Juhi Chawla with Rs 4,600 crore networth secured second place among the entertainers.

Interestingly, 16 professionals also made it to the list with Arista Networks' chief executive Jayshree Ullal being the wealthiest at Rs 32,100 crore and followed by D-mart chief executive Ignatius Navil Noronha at Rs 6,900 crore, according to the list.

Gera Developments' Kumar Pritamdas Gera's wealth grew the fastest at 566 per cent in the 2024 list, while Ambani and Adani had the biggest growth by quantum, the list said.

 

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New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Friday said Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have not been invited to the banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and took a swipe at its own MP Shashi Tharoor for accepting the invite.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "There has been speculation whether the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha have been invited for tonight's official dinner in honour of President Putin. The two LoPs have not been invited."

Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera accused the government of breaking protocols daily and not believing in democratic principles.

"There is no invite to both the LoPs, Mr (Mallikarjun) Kharge and Mr (Rahul) Gandhi. This comes as a surprise but I don't think we should be surprised. This government is known to be breaching all protocols. What else to say, ask the government," he told PTI Videos on the sidelines of an event.

Asked about party MP Tharoor getting invited to the banquet and accepting the invitation, Khera said, "Ask Mr. Tharoor. All of us who are in the party, if our leaders don't get invited and we get invited, we need to question our own conscience and listen to our conscience. Politics has been played in inviting or not inviting people, which in itself is questionable and those who accept such an invite is also questionable," Khera said.

"We would have listened to our voice of conscience," he added.

Earlier, Tharoor said there was a time when the chairman of the external affairs committee was routinely invited but that practice seems to have stopped from some years.

"It has been resumed ...I have been invited, yes. I will definitely go," the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs said.

On the LoPs reportedly not getting an invite, Tharoor said, "I don't know on what basis invitations were sent. I think the custom that usually used to be followed was for a wide representation. Certainly, I remember in the olden days, they used to invite not only the LoPs, (but) various other cross section of representatives of different parties. It conveys a good impression."

"I dont know the basis (of invitation), this is all done by the government, by the protocol by the Rashtrapati Bhawan, what do I know. All I can say I have honoured to have been invited. Of course I will go," Tharoor told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

Gandhi on Thursday had alleged that the government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the Leader of the Opposition due to its "insecurity".

His remarks had come hours ahead of Putin's two-day visit to India.

Gandhi had said it is a tradition that visiting foreign dignitaries meet the LoP but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs were not following this norm.

"Normally the tradition is that those who come from abroad have a meeting with the LoP. This used to happen during (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji's time, Manmohan Singh ji's time, it has been a tradition but what happens these days is that when foreign dignitaries come and when I go abroad, the government suggests to them to not meet the LoP," Gandhi had told reporters in Parliament House complex.