<div>Leading Indian e-retailer Flipkart's co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal are the latest billionaires in the country, with $1.3 billion (Rs.8,582 crore) net worth each, according to leading business magazine Forbes India' rich list released on Wednesday.<br /><br />"Indian e-commerce has added its first billionaires with Flipkart's founders (Bansals) making debut on our rich list at number 86, with $1.3 billion net worth each," the magazine said in a statement here.<br /><br />Though Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani tops the rich list for the ninth consecutive year, his net worth, however, declined $4.7 billion to $18.9 billion (Rs.127,700 crore) from 2014 owing to lower oil prices that hit his oil and petrochemicals giant.<br /><br />Sun Pharmaceutical's Dilip Shanghvi also retained the second spot, with $18 billion net worth, acquisition of drug major Ranbaxy Industries for $4 billion by his company notwithstanding.<br /><br />IT czar and Wipro chairman Azim Premji also retained the third spot in the list, with a net worth of $15.9 billion though $500 million less than in 2014.<br /><br />"The generous billionaire has pledged 18 percent of his stake in Wipro to his charitable trust, in addition to a 21 percent stake already given," the statement noted.<br />"The combined wealth of India's 100 richest remains largely unchanged at $345 billion, as compared to $346 billion in 2014," it added.<br /><br />Similarly, wealth of 10 tycoons slumped by $1billion over the year owing to global and domestic factors, including a volatile stock market and currency fluctuations.<br /><br />Fortune of steel magnate L.N. Mittal (65) declined by $4.6 billion to $11.2 billion and his ranking in the rich list slipped to eight from five year ago, as his and world's largest steel major ArcelorMittal was hit by imports from China.<br /><br />"India is facing a reality check in 2015 after the euphoria in 2014. Though it has impacted several big fortunes in the top 100, the country's entrepreneurial spirit remains buoyant, as evident from a dozen new faces on the list," said Forbes Asia's India editor Naazneen Karmali.<br /><br />Other top 10 billionaires are Hinduja brothers ranked fourth with $14.8 billion net worth; Pallonji Mistry (86), fifth, $14.7 billion; Shiv Nadar (70), sixth, $12.9 billion; Godrej family, seventh, $11.4 billion; Cyrus Poonawalla (74), ninth, $7.9 billion and Kumar Mangalam Birla (48) tenth, $7.8 billion.<br /><br />Gujarat-based Adani group's founder chairman Gautam Adani (53) is ranked 11th with net worth of $7 billion and Kotak Mahindra Bank vice-chairman and managing director Uday Kotak (56) is 12th with $6.5 billion net worth.<br /><br />Only two women figure in the top 100 billionaires' list - Leena (Gandhi) Tewari (58 years), chairman of drug major USV Ltd, is ranked 54 with $1.9 billion net worth, while Indu Jain (79 years), chairperson of the country's largest media group Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd, is ranked 57 with $1.85 billion net worth.<br /><br />Five co-founders of global software major Infosys Ltd figure in the rich list- N.R. Narayana Murthy (69) ranked 53, $1.92 billion; S. Gopalakrishnan (60), 67, $1.67 billion; Nandan Nilekani (60), 69, $1.61 billion and K. Dinesh (61) 96, $1.19 billion.<br /><br />Mahindra group chairman Anand Mahindra (60) is ranked at 99 with a net worth of $1.12 billion. The rich list also has 12 new comers, including IndiGo budget carrier co-founder Rakesh Gangwal at 70 with $1.6 billion net worth, while his friend and co-founder Rahul Bhatia moved up 12 positions from last year to 38 with $2.4 billion net worth.<br /><br />The biggest gainer is Poonawalla, the vaccine magnate, whose fortune increased to $7.9 billion from $6.2 billion in 2014 and entered the top 10 list at nine. He recently bought heritage property Lincoln House in Mumbai for $110 million.<br /><br />"This year's list reflects the churn in the global economy and the growing clout of emerging sectors like ecommerce in India," Forbes India editor Sourav Majumdar added.</div>
<div>Leading Indian e-retailer Flipkart's co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal are the latest billionaires in the country, with $1.3 billion (Rs.8,582 crore) net worth each, according to leading business magazine Forbes India' rich list released on Wednesday.<br /><br />"Indian e-commerce has added its first billionaires with Flipkart's founders (Bansals) making debut on our rich list at number 86, with $1.3 billion net worth each," the magazine said in a statement here.<br /><br />Though Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani tops the rich list for the ninth consecutive year, his net worth, however, declined $4.7 billion to $18.9 billion (Rs.127,700 crore) from 2014 owing to lower oil prices that hit his oil and petrochemicals giant.<br /><br />Sun Pharmaceutical's Dilip Shanghvi also retained the second spot, with $18 billion net worth, acquisition of drug major Ranbaxy Industries for $4 billion by his company notwithstanding.<br /><br />IT czar and Wipro chairman Azim Premji also retained the third spot in the list, with a net worth of $15.9 billion though $500 million less than in 2014.<br /><br />"The generous billionaire has pledged 18 percent of his stake in Wipro to his charitable trust, in addition to a 21 percent stake already given," the statement noted.<br />"The combined wealth of India's 100 richest remains largely unchanged at $345 billion, as compared to $346 billion in 2014," it added.<br /><br />Similarly, wealth of 10 tycoons slumped by $1billion over the year owing to global and domestic factors, including a volatile stock market and currency fluctuations.<br /><br />Fortune of steel magnate L.N. Mittal (65) declined by $4.6 billion to $11.2 billion and his ranking in the rich list slipped to eight from five year ago, as his and world's largest steel major ArcelorMittal was hit by imports from China.<br /><br />"India is facing a reality check in 2015 after the euphoria in 2014. Though it has impacted several big fortunes in the top 100, the country's entrepreneurial spirit remains buoyant, as evident from a dozen new faces on the list," said Forbes Asia's India editor Naazneen Karmali.<br /><br />Other top 10 billionaires are Hinduja brothers ranked fourth with $14.8 billion net worth; Pallonji Mistry (86), fifth, $14.7 billion; Shiv Nadar (70), sixth, $12.9 billion; Godrej family, seventh, $11.4 billion; Cyrus Poonawalla (74), ninth, $7.9 billion and Kumar Mangalam Birla (48) tenth, $7.8 billion.<br /><br />Gujarat-based Adani group's founder chairman Gautam Adani (53) is ranked 11th with net worth of $7 billion and Kotak Mahindra Bank vice-chairman and managing director Uday Kotak (56) is 12th with $6.5 billion net worth.<br /><br />Only two women figure in the top 100 billionaires' list - Leena (Gandhi) Tewari (58 years), chairman of drug major USV Ltd, is ranked 54 with $1.9 billion net worth, while Indu Jain (79 years), chairperson of the country's largest media group Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd, is ranked 57 with $1.85 billion net worth.<br /><br />Five co-founders of global software major Infosys Ltd figure in the rich list- N.R. Narayana Murthy (69) ranked 53, $1.92 billion; S. Gopalakrishnan (60), 67, $1.67 billion; Nandan Nilekani (60), 69, $1.61 billion and K. Dinesh (61) 96, $1.19 billion.<br /><br />Mahindra group chairman Anand Mahindra (60) is ranked at 99 with a net worth of $1.12 billion. The rich list also has 12 new comers, including IndiGo budget carrier co-founder Rakesh Gangwal at 70 with $1.6 billion net worth, while his friend and co-founder Rahul Bhatia moved up 12 positions from last year to 38 with $2.4 billion net worth.<br /><br />The biggest gainer is Poonawalla, the vaccine magnate, whose fortune increased to $7.9 billion from $6.2 billion in 2014 and entered the top 10 list at nine. He recently bought heritage property Lincoln House in Mumbai for $110 million.<br /><br />"This year's list reflects the churn in the global economy and the growing clout of emerging sectors like ecommerce in India," Forbes India editor Sourav Majumdar added.</div>