India's top 10 billionaires

It is raining billionaires in India. About 276 new billionaires have entered the rich list this year, says a Business Standard study.

Their wealth is calculated on the basis of their holdings of company stock. The number of billionaires has thus increased five times, from just 120 in 2000 to 602 now.

Wealth creation hit a record this year as India's dollar billionaire club rose to 50 from around 42 in December 2007. India had only 21 dollar billionaires same time last year.

As many as 14 new billionaires entered the list on account of initial public offers.

Meet the richest people who make it to the 'The Business Standard Billionaires Club'.

1. Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries leads the richest list with a wealth of 1,59,854 crore (Rs 1.59 trillion).

The Ambani brothers now have wealth that is marginally more than Rs 2,28,000 crore (Rs 2.28 trillion).

Mukesh Ambani's wealth increased by 38 per cent as Reliance Industries underperformed the market on account of poor refining margins and the delay in kicking off gas supplies from the Krishna-Godavari basin.

They have therefore multiplied their assets seven-fold in 10 years. That's an annual rate of growth of over 19 per cent, according to Business Standard.

He is ranked the 4th richest man in the world after Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and legendary investor Warren Buffet.

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2. Anil Agarwal

Anil Agarwal, founder-director and executive chairman of the UK-based Vedanta Resources Corporation, who was the fifth richest in the list last year has grabbed the second position this year with a wealth of Rs 91,926 crore (Rs 919.26 billion).

He was ranked 113th in Forbes magazine's 2010 list of the world's billionaires.

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3. Azim Premji

Chairman of Wipro Azim Premji with a net worth of Rs 83,652 crore (Rs 836.52 billion) is the third richest in 'The Business Standard Billionaires Club'. Premji is also the world's 28th richest man according to Forbes.  

Technology billionaires, who benefitted from the boom a decade ago, saw their share in total wealth declining from 45.6 per cent in 2000 to 10.3 per cent a decade later, says the Business Standard report.

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4. Sunil Mittal

Chairman of Bharti Airtel, Sunil Mittal's rank has slipped to 4th place this year with a wealth of Rs 77,558 crore (Rs 775.58 billion).

He is the 87th richest man in the world.

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5. Anil Ambani

Anil Ambani, chairman of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, with a net worth of Rs 68,443 crore (Rs 684.43 billion) has been pushed to fifth place from third place last year.

Acording to Forbes, however, Anil Ambani is the 36th richest man  in the world.

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6. Prithviraj, Sajjan & Naveen Jindal

Prithviraj, Sajjan & Naveen Jindal of JSW Steel with a net worth of Rs 65,535 crore (Rs 655.35 billion) are ranked in the 6th position. Their wealth zoomed by 161 per cent over last year.

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7. Gautam S Adani

Gautam S Adani, chairman of Adani Enterprises who was at 4th place last year is pushed to 7th position this year. His wealth stood at Rs 60,474 crore (Rs 604.74 billion).

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8. K P Singh and family

K P Singh & family take the 8th place with a net worth of Rs 40,999 crore (Rs 409.99 billion). Their wealth increased by 92 per cent over the last year.

K P Singh, chairman of DLF, is the 74th richest man in the world, in the Forbes ranking.

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9. Kumar Mangalam Birla

Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, is at the 9th richest with a wealth of Rs 29,111 crore (Rs 291.11 billion), a growth of 95 per cent over the last year.

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10. Keshub Mahindra

Keshub Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, who was ranked 13 last year, has been ranked as the 10th richest this year.

His wealth grew by 158 per cent to Rs 23,925 crore (Rs 239.25 billion).