Paytm chief is youngest Indian billionaire: Forbes

New York, March 7: Mukesh Ambani’s net worth has soared to $40.1 billion, making him the richest Indian for the 11th year in a row, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos toppled Bill Gates as the world’s wealthiest person, says Forbes.

According to Forbes’ 2018 ‘World’s Billionaires’ list, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani’s wealth surged a whopping 72.84 per cent to $40.1 billion — highest among the 119 Indian billionaires on the list. Mr Ambani was ranked 19th globally, up from 33rd position in 2017.

“Mukesh Ambani chairs and runs $51 billion (revenues) oil and gas giant RIL, among India’s most valuable companies,” Forbes said.

Mr Bezos topped the list with a net worth of $112 billion, becoming the only person to appear with a 12-figure fortune. “Shares of Amazon rose 59 per cent in 12 months, helping boost his fortune by $39.2 billion. It was the biggest one-year gain since Forbes started tracking billionaires in 1987,” it said. The Amazon founder moved ahead of Bill Gates, who is now the second richest person globally with a fortune of $90 billion.

According to Forbes, India is home to 119 billionaires, 18 more than last year. This year’s list consists of 2,043 of the richest people in the world.

The combined net worth of this elite group is a whopping $9.1 trillion, up 18 per cent since last year. Their average net worth is a record $4.1 billion.

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, 39, is the youngest Indian billionaire, while 92-year-old Samprada Singh is the oldest. — PTI

AZIM PREMJI is the second richest Indian and was ranked 58th on the overall list with a net worth of $18.8 billion, followed by Lakshmi Mittal (62), Shiv Nadar (98).