Bengaluru's Virwani is 2nd richest real estate tycoon

Bengaluru is the third most preferred city of residence for real estate tycoons in India as 21 names from the city have been featured in the GROHE Hurun India Real Estate Rich List 2018. In terms of net worth, three real estate developers from Bengaluru are among the top 10 in the country.

Bengaluru-based Jitendra Virwani of Embassy Group has been ranked number two in the list with a net worth of Rs 23,160 crore. The list is topped by Mangal Prabhat Lodha of Lodha Group.

Among other Bengalureans, Manoj Menda and Raj Menda of RMZ Group share the No 9 rank with the net worth of Rs 5,900 crore each.

Hurun Report and GROHE India on Wednesday released the second edition of the rich list featuring the richest real estate entrepreneurs in India. While Mumbai stood first with 35 names hailing from the financial capital, it was followed by Delhi with 22 names.

The total wealth of top 100 real estate barons featured in the list accounted for Rs 2,36,610 crore ($32.7 billion) in 2018 – up 27% against 2017 edition’s cumulative wealth of Rs 186,700 crore ($ 28.6 billion). The List was compiled on the basis of the net worth of living Indians as on September 30, 2018, when the rate of exchange to the US Dollar stood at Rs 72.46.

Rajiv Singh of DLF stood at No 3 rank. Interestingly, 59% of the names featured in 2018 edition of GROHE Hurun India Real Estate Rich List are first generation entrepreneurs and the average age of the participants is 59 years – with the youngest being 24 years (Kunal Menda of RMZ) and the eldest being of 89 years (Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi of East India Hotels).

Only four names aged below 40 years were featured in the list and nine women were featured on the list – with Renuka Talwar of DLF being the richest woman ranked at No 19.

Anas Rahman Junaid, MD, and Chief Researcher, Hurun Report India, said “Real Estate sector in India has always been among the key wealth creators in the country. The combined wealth of the top 100 names listed by us in 2018 stands at $32.3 billion. It is also an industry that demands patience and persistence – with an average age of the participants on the list hovering around 59 years and accounting for 59% of the first generation entrepreneurs."