EXCLUSIVE: India’s top trending business tycoons of 2019, according to Google⁠

The Czar of Indian IT industry and founder of Wipro, Azim Premji stepped down from his post of executive chairman and Managing Director of Wipro in July 2019. In the same month, he also attended his last annual general meeting and addressed its employees and shareholders. Premji will continue to be on the board of the company. He had served as the executive chairman of Wipro for a long period of 53 years.

But that’s not the only reason why he was in the news. This year, Premji also announced an increased contribution to his charity – Azim Premji foundation. Premji has earmarked all economic benefits for philanthropy, setting aside 34% of Wipro shares worth $7.5 billion.

His total contribution to philanthropy now stands at a whopping $21 billion, including 67% of economic ownership of Wipro Limited.

Lakshmi Mittal is the Indian-origin Chairman and CEO of steel group ArcelorMittal. According to the Hurun list, Mittal and his family hold a net worth of ₹107,300 crores making them the fourth richest in the country.

The steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal has peaked Google search several times this year, especially because of his $6 billion bid for Essar Steel, which passed through many uncertainties before the Supreme Court finally cleared the deck in November.

The pharma billionaire Cyrus S Poonawalla is the chairman of Poonawalla Group, which includes Serum Institute of India. Called as India’s vaccine king, Poonawalla’s net worth is ₹88,800 crores. According to Forbes, his net worth has multiplied by five times in the past decade.

Poonawalla’s fancy lifestyle with mansions in Mumbai and horses and the latest cars, is famous and known to all.

The chairman of the Mahindra Group is in the news almost every other day thanks to his witty tweets and also the job offers he hands out through social media. With a net worth of ₹8,200 crores, he is one of the most social media savvy billionaires in India.

Mahindra had also made headlines when he announced his decision to ban plastic bottles in the boardrooms of his company.

The founder and chairman of HCL Shiv Nadar is one of India’s richest with a net worth of ₹43,500 crores. Having founded the company in 1970, Nadar has also made a mark with his philanthropy. He also founded the Shiv Nadar foundation in 1994 for his charitable initiatives.

He was in the news recently for holding the top spot in Edelgive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2019. He and his family gave away ₹826 crores in charity.

Gautam Adani is the man behind one of India's largest infrastructure companies worth ₹4700 crore – the Adani Group. According to Hurun Rich List, Adani is the fifth richest person in India with a net worth of ₹94,500 crore, having jumped eight spots within a year.

Adani has been in the spotlight several times this year – from his bid for the now bankrupt DHFL to him winning the rights to develop its Charmichael coal mine in Queensland, Australia after a decade long court battle.

The chairperson and Managing director of Biocon is the face of women leaders in corporate India. Her latest net worth is ₹18,500 crores, according to Hurun Rich list.

The pharmaceuticals entrepreneur has often been in the news for her views on an array of issues including some criticism of the Indian government after the unfortunate death of Cafe Coffee Day founder VG Siddhartha.

Uday Kotak, Asia’s richest banker, has a total net worth of $11.8 billion. In fact, his wealth grew over three times from $3 billion in 2010 to $ 11.8 billion in 2019. This quick rise in riches came from the increased value of his shareholding in Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Kotak also came under the spotlight as he was chosen by the Indian government to lead the beleaguered financing giant IL&FS out of its crisis, which was the biggest financial scandal to explode in the closing months of 2019.

Called as India’s retail king, Radhakishan Damani is the man behind the Indian retail giant Avenue Supermart which runs DMart. Damani has a total net wealth of ₹43,200 crores, having started from a single store in 2002 to building a retail legacy in the country. In the Forbes list of top 10 richest Indians, Damani holds the fourth spot.

According to reports, Damani now plans to sell a 5.2% stake in the company for a whopping $823 million.