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Indian billionaires' wealth has almost tripled (263 per cent) to $905.6 billion (Rs 76.66 lakh crore) in the past 10 years, making India the third largest billionaire base worldwide, Swiss bank UBS stated in a report.
The UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report also added that the number of billionaires in India almost doubled (123 per cent) to 185 in last 10 years. This surge is attributed to the large number of stable family-owned businesses in the country that have contributed to India's economic growth.
India boasts one of the highest numbers of publicly listed family-owned businesses in the world, the report said.
It also stated that while billionaire wealth growth has slowed down across the world, India remains an exception.
The wealth held by the world's billionaires jumped by about 17 per cent over the past year, as significant gains among the super rich in the United States more than offset a decline in China, the report said.
It added that the total number of billionaires had risen to 2,682 from 2,544 a year earlier, and their net worth rose to $14 trillion from $12 trillion. In 2015, their total wealth stood at $6.3 trillion.
In the United States, the number of billionaires jumped to 835 from 751, led by industrial and tech magnates, with their total wealth climbing to $5.8 trillion from $4.6 trillion.
China, which has seen the government go after businesses for the past few years, saw the number of billionaires drop to 427 from 520, and their wealth to $1.4 trillion from $1.8 trillion.
Benjamin Cavalli, head of strategic clients at UBS global wealth management, said the decline reflected losses in real estate markets and a drop in the value of firms owned by some of China's wealthiest amid a less certain economic outlook.
In Western Europe, Switzerland overtook Britain to become the country with the second-highest number of billionaires after Germany, increasing its total by 10 to 85.
France, with 46 (+12), Germany with 117 (+8), Italy with 62 (+6) and Spain with 27 (+3), all gained billionaires whereas the British total dropped by one to 82, UBS said. The combined wealth of France's billionaires was highest among Europeans.
(With Reuters input)