India’s GDP is growing at a rate of 6-7% (on an average) since the economic liberalization that began in 1991. Currently, India is the 7th largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP (US$2.716 trillion in 2018) and 3rd largest in terms of Purchasing Power Parity - PPP (US$10.505 trillion in 2018).
As a result, the number of ultra rich is increasing by leaps and bounds in India. 2018 Global Wealth Report of Credit Suisse Research Institute shows that there are 3.43 lakh millionaires in India. By 2027, this number is expected to increase by 190% and touch 9.50 lakh millionaires.
106 Indian billionaires made it to the 2019’s list of billionaires, published by Forbes. However, only 6 women from India featured in that list. India’s growth story will be incomplete without women.
So, let’s have a look at the 10 richest Indian women:
Please click Next to know the names1. Savitri Jindal
Savitri Jindal is the chairperson of Jindal Group whose business interests are in the fields of steel, power, cement and infrastructure. She is the widow of Jindal Group’s founder Om Prakash Jindal, who died in a helicopter crash in 2005. Revenue earnings of Jindal Group have quadrupled since she became the chairperson of the company. 69 years old Savitri has a net worth of US$5.9 billion and her rank on the Forbes Billionaires List is 290. She currently lives in Hisar (Haryana) and is a well-known political figure in Haryana. Savitri Jindal was an MLA from Hisar constituency and also a Cabinet Minister in Haryana Government in 2013.
2. Vinod Gupta & Family
Vinod Gupta and Anil Rai Gupta are mother and son duo, accumulating wealth from their family’s 60% shareholding of Havells India (a flagship electrical and lighting fixtures company). The company has now expanded its product line by churning out fans, washing machines, and refrigerators. Havells India has twelve factories across India and sells its products in over fifty countries. The company was founded by Qimat Rai Gupta (late husband of Vinod Gupta) as an electrical trading business entity in 1958. Vinod & Anil Rai Gupta & family have a net worth of US$3.5 Billion.
3. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the founder chairperson of Biocon Ltd., the largest biopharmaceutical firm of India established in 1978. 66-year old Kiran has a net worth of US$3.5 billion and has an overall ranking of 617 on the Forbes billionaires list 2019. Biocon is the first company that received USFDA approval for two different cancer treating biosimilar drugs and successfully entered the lucrative US biosimilars market. The USP of her company is that it depends upon its own R&D rather than the other copycat generics makers.
4. Smita Crishna-Godrej
68-year old Smita Crishna-Godrej belongs to the famous Godrej business family. She owns 20% stake in the total assets of Godrej family. The famous consumer goods company, Godrej & Boyce, is run by Smita’s brother Jamshyd. Smita Crishna-Godrej has a net worth of US$2.7 billion and is holding 838th rank in the Forbes billionaires list 2019. She lives in Mumbai with her husband Vijay Crishna (a well-known theatre actor).
5. Leena Tewari
Leena Tewari is the heiress of leading pharmaceutical company USV India (set up in 1961 by her late father Vithal Gandhi along with Revlon). The media-shy heiress has a net worth of US$1.9 Billion, catapulating her to 1227 rank in the Forbes billionaires list 2019. The company is run by Leena’s husband Prashant (who is an IIT graduate and a mechanical engineer from Cornell). USV India produces a wide array of diabetic, cardiovascular, injectables, and biosimilar drugs, as well as active pharmaceutical ingredients.
6. Jayshree Ullal
Jayshree Ullal is the President and CEO of a computer networking company Arista Networks (having revenue of $2.2 billion in 2018). She currently own 5% of Arista's stocks and is one of the wealthiest female executives of America. Jayshree now lives in Saratoga, California (USA) and has a net worth of US $1.2 Billion. Her rank on the Forbes billionaires list 2019 is 1818.
7. Anu Aga
76-year-old Anu Aga has a 62% stake in Thermax, a listed engineering company. It was in 1985 that she first started working for the company. However, she had to take control of the company when her husband died in 1996 of a heart attack. Anu Aga handed over the company’s chairperson role to her daughter Meher in 2004. She now lives in Pune and has a net worth of US$1.1 Billion, catapulting her to the 1941 rank in the Forbes billionaires list 2019. She received Padma Shri for her social and community works in 2010, and became a Rajya Sabha member on 26 April 2012.
8. Shradha Agarwal
Shradha Agarwal is a self-made businesswoman. She is the co-founder and president of a Chicago-based healthcare technology company Outcome Health, having a net worth of Rs. 8,200 crores. The company is currently building the largest platform in the world for actionable health intelligence. Outcome Health has recently raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs and Google.
9. Vembu Radha
Vembu Radha is another self-made woman who has a net worth of Rs. 5,800 crores. She is the director of three companies Zoho Corporation Private Limited, Janaki Hi-Tech Agro Private Limited, and Highland Valley Corporation Private Limited. She is the sister of Zoho Corporation’s CEO Sridhar Vembu.
10. Sheela Gautam
Sheela Gautam is yet another revered name in the Indian business domain. She started Sheela Foam back in 1971. The company’s revenue is US$270 million. The most renowned brand of products created by her company is Sleepwell brand of mattresses. Sheela Gautam’s net worth is currently Rs. 2,800 crores.
Conclusion
There are many rich women of Indian origin. Some of them are Indra Nooyi (ex-CEO of PepsiCo), Ambiga Subramanian (CEO of Mu Sigma data analytics company), Falguni Nayar (the founder of Nykaa beauty product company), Vandana Luthra (the founder of VLCC and a leading name in the beauty and wellness industry), and many more.
Related Link:
India’s Top 10 Richest Women 2018
