Mukesh Ambani breaks into top 10, ranked at 9th in Forbes global rich list
New Delhi, Apr 3: Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd head Mukesh Ambani continues to be the richest Indian and has now broken into the world's top 10 wealthiest persons in the latest Forbes 2024 Billionaire List.
Ambani, 66, is ranked 9th on the list with a wealth of USD 116 billion, up from USD 83.4 billion in the 2023 ranking, according to Forbes.
Gautam Adani is the second richest Indian and is ranked at No.17 on the global list. He is worth USD 84 billion, up from USD 47.2 billion in 2023 when his apples-to-airport conglomerate was rocked by a damning report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research. Adani group has denied all allegations in the report.
Adani, 61, was worth USD 90 billion in 2022 ranking.
The Forbes 2024 Billionaires List features 2,781 individuals, an increase of 141 names from last year's list. The billionaires, according to the list, are richer than ever, worth USD 14.2 trillion in aggregate, up by USD 2 trillion from 2023 and USD 1.1 trillion above the previous record, also set in 2021.
Two-thirds of the list's members are worth more than a year ago; only one-fourth are poorer.
Fashion and cosmetics giant LVMH's Bernard Arnault is at the top of the list with USD 233 billion wealth, followed by Elon Musk with USD 195 billion and Amazon's Jeff Bezos with USD 194 billion.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg comes next in the list with a net worth of USD 177 billion.
The US has a record 813 billionaires followed by China with 473 billionaires. India added 31 billionaires to the list compared to last year with the number now reaching 200.
"To calculate net worths, we used stock prices and exchange rates from March 8, 2024," Forbes said.
Other Indians on the list include IT pioneer and HCL co-founder Shiv Nadar at No.39 with USD 36.9 billion wealth, Jindal group's Savitri Jindal and family at No.46 with USD 33.5 billion, Sun Pharma's Dilip Shanghvi at No.69 with USD 26.7 billion, vaccine maker Cyrus Poonawalla at No 90 with USD 21.3 billion, property baron Kushal Pal Singh at No 92 with USD 20.9 billion, and commodities king Kumar Bila at No 98 with USD 19.7 billion.
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25 killed in lightning strikes, hailstorms in several districts of Bihar
Patna, Apr 10 (PTI): At least 25 people were killed in lightning strikes and hailstorms in several districts of Bihar on Thursday, officials said.
According to a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Nalanda reported 18 deaths, followed by two in Siwan, one each in Katihar, Darbhanga, Begusarai, Bhagalpur and Jehanabad.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, however, claimed in a post on X that over 50 people died on Thursday.
“I am deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of more than 50 people in various incidents of storm, rain, lightning, tree and wall collapse in Bihar. I express my deepest condolences. May God provide strength to the families affected by the disaster in this hour of grief,” he wrote in Hindi.
He also said that the state government should compensate farmers for their crop loss due to the sudden rain and give them proper compensation.
Earlier, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar condoled the deaths and announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.
On Wednesday, 13 people had died in lightning strikes in four districts of Bihar.
The India Meteorological Department has issued an ‘orange alert’ (be prepared) for a number of districts, including Darbhanga, East Champaran, Gopalganj, West Champaran, Kishanganj, Araria, Supaul, Gaya, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Nalanda, Nawada and Patna.
It has also forecast heavy rainfall on Friday and Saturday in these districts.
"Thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds (40-50 kmph) likely to occur at few places over Madhubani, Darbhanga, East Champaran, Gopalganj, West Champaran, Kishanganj, Araria, Supaul, Gaya, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Nalanda, Nawada, Patna," the IMD said in a bulletin.
Water-logging was also reported on Thursday from several parts of Patna following heavy rain.
The state capital recorded an average of 42.6 mm rainfall till 5.30 pm.
Officials of the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) and district administration, however, claimed that rainwater was drained out in the shortest possible time despite the downpour.
