Chandrababu Naidu emerges as richest CM with assets worth Rs 936 crore

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has emerged as the richest chief minister in the country with assets worth Rs 936 crore, according to a latest report by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).

A closer examination of his wealth reveals that the majority comes from his shareholding in Heritage Foods Ltd, a listed dairy company he founded in 1992.

The Delhi-based Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 30 current chief ministers in state assemblies and union territories across the nation.

The data was extracted from affidavits filed by the chief ministers prior to contesting their last elections.

Of the 30 chief ministers analysed, two (7 per cent) are billionaires, with their combined assets totaling Rs 1,632 crore.

Naidu's declared assets of Rs 936 crore make him the wealthiest chief minister in India. The bulk of his wealth stems from his 2,26,11,525 shares in Heritage Foods Limited (HFL). At the time of filing his election affidavit, each HFL share was valued at Rs 337.85, resulting in an asset value of Rs 763.93 crore.

Sources close to Naidu noted that the value of promoter shares held by the Nara family in the 33-year-old publicly listed dairy company has appreciated significantly over the past three decades. The Nara family owns 41.3 per cent of Heritage Foods Ltd's total shareholding.

The company's market capitalisation has grown dramatically from Rs 25 crore in 1995 to Rs 4,500 crore in 2025. It reached its peak valuation of Rs 6,755 crore in June 2024, with the highest-ever shareholder count of 1,81,907.

The remaining portion of Naidu's Rs 936 crore wealth includes personal loans, gold and silver jewelry owned by his wife Nara Bhuvaneswari—who serves as vice chairperson and managing director of HFL—and properties jointly owned by the family in Kuppam, Chittoor, and Hyderabad.

Heritage Foods: From Startup to Success

Heritage Foods was incorporated by Chandrababu Naidu in 1992 with an authorized capital of Rs 1 crore and paid-up capital of Rs 7,000. The company commenced operations in 1993 and launched its initial public offering (IPO) in 1994.

"The IPO was oversubscribed 54 times, and shares were listed on the BSE and NSE, raising Rs 6.50 crore," a source close to Naidu told DH. "During its first year of operations, Heritage Foods established its inaugural dairy plant at Chittoor known as the milk-rich district of Andhra Pradesh with an investment of Rs 1.60 crore. The plant handled 19,000 liters of milk daily and achieved revenue of Rs 4.36 crore with a profit of Rs 19 lakh," the source added.

Since then Heritage Company has been on a consistent growth trajectory with Rs 100 crore by FY 2000, Rs 500 crore by FY 2008, Rs 1,000 crore by FY 2011, Rs 2,000 crore by FY 2016, Rs 3,000 crore by FY 2023 , Rs 4,000 crore by FY 2025.

The company's net worth expanded from Rs 9.99 crore in 1994 to Rs 972 crore in 2025. This growth was funded through debt raised from a consortium of banks including Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank (now Union Bank of India), ICICI, HDFC, and Kotak Mahindra Bank.