Mukesh Ambani is Asia's richest person again, overtakes Chinese billionaire Jack Ma: Forbes
India has world's 3rd highest number of billionaires
New York, Apr 7: India has the third highest number of billionaires in the world after the US and China, according to a new list by the prestigious Forbes magazine, which said Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani reclaimed his spot as Asia's richest person, dethroning Chinese business tycoon Jack Ma who was the richest person in the region a year ago.
Forbes' 35th annual list of the world's billionaires is topped by Amazon CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos for the fourth year in a row.
His net worth is USD 177 billion, up USD 64 billion from a year ago as a result of surging Amazon shares, Forbes said.
On the second spot is SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who was the biggest gainer in dollar terms. Musk's fortune ballooned to USD 151 billion, a whopping USD 126.4 billion more than a year ago, when he had ranked 31 and was worth USD 24.6 billion, it said.
The main reason: a 705 per cent climb in Tesla shares, Forbes said.
Ambani, the richest person in India and also the wealthiest in Asia, is ranked 10 on the global billionaires' list. He reclaimed his spot as Asia's richest person with a net worth of USD 84.5 billion.
Ambani has become the richest person in Asia, ranked Number 10 and worth an estimated USD 84.5 billion. He nudges out Jack Ma of China, Asia's richest person a year ago, whose rank dropped to 26 (from 17 last year) despite a nearly USD 10 billion jump in his fortune to USD 48.4 billion, Forbes said.
Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, the second richest person in India, is ranked 24th on the global list of billionaires with a net worth of USD 50.5 billion.
Chairman of the Poonawalla Group and founder of the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, Cyrus Poonawalla is ranked 169th on the Forbes list of the world's billionaires with a net worth of USD 12.7 billion.
Poonawalla ranks seven on the list of Indian billionaires. Founder of HCL Technologies Shiv Nadar, the third richest person in India, is ranked 71st globally and has a net worth of USD 23.5 billion.
The three richest Indians alone have added just over USD 100 billion between them, Forbes said.
At 724, the US has more billionaires than any other country in the world (up from 614 last year). China is closing the gap with 698 billionaires, up from 456 last year.
As a result of the gains in China, Beijing is home to more billionaires than anywhere in the world, overtaking New York City, Forbes said.
India has the third highest number of billionaires, with 140, followed by Germany with 136 and Russia with 117.
Forbes said the 1,149 billionaires from Asia-Pacific countries together are worth USD 4.7 trillion, while the US billionaires are worth a total USD 4.4 trillion.
On the global list, 106 are under 40. The youngest billionaire is 18-year-old Kevin David Lehmann of Germany, whose father Guenther Lehmann transferred his stake in drugstore chain dm-drogerie mkt to him. His worth is USD 3.3 billion and ranks 925 on the list, while the oldest billionaire is 99-year old US insurance tycoon George Joseph, it said.
The number of billionaires on Forbes' 35th annual list of the world's wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented 2,755 -- 660 more than a year ago, altogether worth USD 13.1 trillion, it said.
There are a record high 493 newcomers to the list, roughly one new billionaire every 17 hours, including 210 from China and Hong Kong and 98 from the US
French billionaire Bernard Arnault, who oversees an empire of 70 brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora, is the third richest person in the world with a net worth of USD 150 billion, followed by chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates (USD 124 billion), Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (USD 97 billion).
The top 10 richest are worth USD 1.15 trillion, up by two-thirds from USD 686 billion last year. Altogether, Europe's billionaires are USD 1 trillion richer than a year ago.
The richest woman this year is cosmetics heir Francoise Bettencourt Meyers of France, who with a net worth of USD 73.6 billion is ranked 12th.
India's top 10 billionaires include DMart founder Radhakishan Damani, Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Uday Kotak, Executive Chairman of ArcelorMittal Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group Kumar Mangalam Birla, founder of Sun Pharmaceuticals Dilip Shanghvi and Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises Sunil Mittal.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
