Gautam Adani, Naveen Jindal, Anand Mahindra and Kumar Mangalam Birla increased their net worth despite COVID-19 wreaking havoc

• Despite the turbulence brought on by the pandemic in 2020, 150 Indian billionaires saw their wealth increase over the past one year.
• The biggest gainers were the Adani Family, Byju Raveendran and Anand Mahindra.
• New faces that made it only the list this year include Naveen Jindal, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Murali Divi.

Every year a few names drop off the Hurun Rich List and some rise up in the ranks but 2020 was no ordinary year. Businesses were brought to their limits in trying to cope with the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. India, despite the circumstances, rose to become the country with the third largest number of billionaires in the world — after China and the US.

The Asian giant has 177 billionaires at home, which is an increase of 40 from last year. Mukesh Ambani still reigns supreme, as not only the richest man in India, but in Asia.

Here is how the rankings shifted this year:

• Number of billionaires who saw their wealth increase: 150
• Number of billionaires who saw their wealth decrease: 16
• Number of billionaires who saw no change in estimated net worth: 12
• New faces: 50
• Drop-offs: 10

In addition to the 177 billionaires within India, there are another 32 billionaires of Indian origin, living outside of India like LN Mittal of ArcelorMittal in the UK or Zscaler’s Jay Chaudhry in the US.

Here is a quick look at the top gainers and new faces among Indian billionaires on the Hurun Rich List 2021: