India's new billionaires: A record 40 promoters entered the club in 2021

A record 40 promoters entered the club in 2021, beating the previous high of 24 in FY10

There has never been a better time to be a promoter of a listed company in India. A record 40 businessmen and promoters entered the billionaires’ club in 2021, beating the previous record of 24 new entrants during the year ending March 2010. This the biggest expansion in the billionaires’ club since Business Standard started collecting data on promoters’ net worth beginning March 2007.

In comparison, there were only 10 new entrants in the billionaires’ club each in 2019 and 2020.

These 40 new billionaires, many of which include first-generation entrepreneurs, now have a combined wealth of around $73 billion (some Rs 5.47 trillion), up 243 per cent from their combined wealth of around $21.2 billion at the end of December 2020.

Also, for the first time in almost a decade, there were no exits from the billionaires’ list in 2021 thanks to a strong broad-based rally on Dalal Street. In comparison, there were six exits from the super-rich club in 2020 due to a fall in the companies’ share price, while 12 promoters had exited the billionaires’ club in 2019.

The analysis is based on the respective companies’ market capitalisation and the market value of promoters’ stake on December 23, 2021. The calculation is based on the latest available shareholding pattern of the companies.

The new entrants to the billionaires’ club not only include tech entrepreneurs such as Falguni Nayar of Nykaa and Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm but also owners of traditional brick-and-mortar companies such as B K Goenka of the textile-to-steel Welspun Group, Yogesh Kothari of Alkyl Amines, Abhishek Mangal Prabhat Lodha of Macrotech Developers, D K Jain of Inox Group and Rajiv Dewan of Trident.

Serial equity investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala also made it to the billionaire list thanks to the initial public offer of Star Health & Allied Insurance. His 17.51 per cent promoter’s stake in the company is worth nearly Rs 8,000 crore.

New entrants to the 2021 billionaires’ list include scions of old and well-established business groups such as Sanjiv Goenka of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, Chandra Kant Birla of CK Birla Group, Ajay Shriram of Delhi-based DCM Group, TT Jagannathan of Chennai-based TTK Group, Meher Pudumjee of Pune based Thermax and Nikhil Nanda of Escorts.

The Sanjiv Goenka family’s stake in the group companies is now worth nearly $1.9 billion or Rs 14,300 crore, up from $0.95 billion a year ago.

Most of the gains to Sanjiv Goenka came from a sharp rise in the market capitalisation of the group’s music and entertainment venture, Saregama India. The company’s market capitalisation is up over seven times from Rs 1,454 crore at the end of December 2020 to nearly Rs 10,200 crore now.

Birla, meanwhile, is worth $1.52 billion (around Rs 11,410 crore), up from $0.81 billion a year ago (around Rs 5,950 crore). He gained from more than doubling of the market capitalisation of the group IT Services arm, Birlasoft. The mid-size Birlasoft is now the most valuable company in the group with market capitalisation of nearly Rs 15,000 crore up from Rs 6,900 crore a year ago.

The biggest gainers among the newcomers include the first-generation entrepreneurs who listed their businesses on the bourses through initial public offering and benefited from investors’ love for the new company.

Falguni Nayar of Nykaa, for example, came in from the cold to become the 23rd richest promoter in the country with a net worth of $7 billion, ahead of many promoters from old and well-established business groups.

And, Lodha is now India’s richest real estate developer with a net worth of nearly $6.73 billion (Rs 50,500 crore), thanks to a strong listing of his firm Macrotech Developers. Lodha’s company is one of the country’s top developers with a market capitalisation of Rs 58,700 crore.

Similarly, Sanjay Kapur of Sona BLW Precision Forgings is now the second wealthiest auto component maker in the country, behind Vivek Chaand Sehgal of Motherson Sumi, with a net worth of $3.7 billion. This is thanks to the strong market debut of Sona BLW Precision, which is now one of the most valuable auto component makers with a market capitalisation of nearly Rs 42,500 crore.

Other first-generation promoters to gain from the IPO boom include Rafique Malik of footwear retailer Metro Brands (worth $1.3 billion), Ashok Ramnarayan Boob of Clean Science & Technology ($2.71 billion), Hiren Patel of Nuvoco Vistas ($1.7 billion) and Sushil Kanubhai Shah of Metropolis Healthcare ($1.11 bn).Ashok Ram Narayan Boob of Clean Science & Technology ($2.71 billion). Hiren Patel of Nuvovo Vistas ($1.7 billion) and Sushil Kanubhai Shah of Metropolis Healthcare ($1.11 billion).