Rise of Women Billionaires: 540 Now Hold Over Rs 500 Crore in Wealth

The list, which takes into account individuals with a minimum net worth of INR 5 billion, has 2,013 wealth creators (of which 540 are women) including entrepreneurs, professionals, investors, and heirs as of June 2024.

"Women are better represented in the pharmaceuticals sector, where they comprise 33 per cent of the total number of pharma’s rupee billionaires. On the other hand, 24 per cent of rupee billionaires in the financial sector are women, representing 13 per cent of the sector’s promoter wealth," the report said.

Isha Ambani is the richest business owner among women while her siblings Akash Ambani and Anant Ambani emerged as the richest Indians with a net worth of INR 3.59 lakh crore each. The list has identified 72 women leaders who have been actively involved in their businesses’ value creation or are founders.

While 29 of these 72 women leaders have made their mark in the healthcare, pharmaceuticals, IT and engineering sectors, 21 are first-gen entrepreneurs. These first-gen women leaders have a strong focus on e-commerce solutions, IT software and services and financial services, accounting for 72 per cent of overall first-gen women leaders’ wealth.

"Around 90 wealth creators on the 360 ONE wealth creators list are shaping a stronger and more resilient rural economy by delivering growth, employment, and empowerment through their primary business ventures. Notably, 34 per cent of these businesses have generated strong rural employment opportunities through the food processing value chain, while 18 per cent have provided lending solutions to rural India, facilitating business growth and development," the report said.

Pharmaceuticals, IT Software & Services, and Financial Services together account for a significant around 26 per cent of the total wealth creation in India. Pharma has the highest number at rupee 174 billionaires, followed by the financial services sector at 158 and the IT sector at 134. The richest pharma tycoon is Dilip Shantilal Shanghvi of Sun Pharma, while Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha are the richest in financial services, and Azim H Premji ranks top in the tech space.

The wealth of India’s richest is concentrated in listed companies: 607 publicly listed companies account for 93 per cent of the total personal wealth of 1,726 individuals and comprise 85 per cent of the wealth creators list.

In contrast, only 15 per cent or 287 individuals derive their wealth from 132 unlisted companies, accounting for a relatively modest 7 per cent share of the total wealth.

"A majority of India’s first-generation entrepreneurs under the age of 40 have attained wealth by leveraging the digital economy to disrupt traditional business models. A remarkable 60 per cent of their wealth comes from sectors such as broking and investment platforms (such as Upstox and Zerodha), e-commerce solutions (Urban Company, Swiggy and Honasa Consumer), edtech (Physicswallah and Unacademy), and fintech (like Stashfin, Slice and Onecard)," the study said.

"When it comes to wealth creation, India’s richest earn around 86 per cent of their money from their flagship companies. Only around 30per cent of the 2,013 rupee billionaires– that’s 600 rupee billionaires – derive their wealth from two or more companies," the study observed.