Richest families · Data
Richest Families in India 2026: The Top 10
The Adani family tops both main rankings of India's richest in 2026. Forbes puts Gautam Adani & family at USD 112.7 billion on its list of India's 100 richest, published on 30 September 2026 with values at the close of markets on 11 September. Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, is second with USD 86.3 billion, and Savitri Jindal is third with USD 39.8 billion. Hurun's 2026 list, measured on 24 August, has the same top two. Unlike Forbes's global billionaires list, the Forbes India list includes family fortunes, including those shared among extended families. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
The 10 richest families
| # | Family | Business | Forbes India 2026 | Hurun 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adani family | Adani Group | USD 112.7 billion | No. 1, INR 9.23 lakh crore |
| 2 | Ambani family | Reliance Industries | USD 86.3 billion | No. 2, INR 8.63 lakh crore |
| 3 | Jindal family | O.P. Jindal Group | USD 39.8 billion | Not in top 10 |
| 4 | Lakshmi Mittal family | ArcelorMittal | USD 34.7 billion | No. 3, INR 3.39 lakh crore |
| 5 | Sunil Mittal family | Bharti Enterprises | USD 32.9 billion | Not in top 10 |
| 6 | Poonawalla family | Serum Institute of India | USD 28.4 billion | No. 4, INR 3.03 lakh crore |
| 7 | Nadar family | HCL (HCL Corp, HCLTech) | USD 27.4 billion | No. 5, INR 2.79 lakh crore |
| 8 | Shanghvi family | Sun Pharmaceutical Industries | USD 26.3 billion | No. 7, INR 2.65 lakh crore |
| 9 | Birla family | Aditya Birla Group | USD 23.2 billion | No. 6, INR 2.69 lakh crore |
| 10 | Hinduja family | Hinduja Group | USD 21.2 billion | Not in top 10 |
What the list shows
- Succession is under way at several of the top 10. Mukesh Ambani said in June 2026 that the generational transfer of day-to-day management at Reliance is almost complete, with his children Isha, Akash and Anant leading the consumer, technology and energy businesses; Shiv Nadar gifted 47% stakes in the family holding companies HCL Corp and Vama Delhi to his daughter Roshni Nadar Malhotra in March 2025, making her the majority shareholder of both; and Sunil Mittal announced a 10-year generational shift at Bharti Airtel in May 2026, according to Business Standard. [2, 6, 7, 8]
- Few of these families describe a family office in public. Some hold their main companies through holding companies: HCL Corp and Vama Delhi for the Nadars, according to Business Today, while Bharti Airtel's promoter entity, Bharti Telecom, holds 40.5% of the company, according to Business Standard. Bharti Global, the Bharti group's London-headquartered international investment arm run by Shravin Bharti Mittal, invests abroad. [8, 9, 10]
- Family offices are spreading all the same: India had nearly 300 by 2024-25, up from about 45 in 2018, according to estimates cited by EY and Julius Baer (August 2026). [11]
- Some families on the list live abroad. Forbes lists the Hinduja family as UK citizens resident in London, and gives Lakshmi Mittal's residence as Switzerland, saying he moved his base there from the UK; The Sunday Times reported in November 2025 that he would spend most of his time in Dubai (as reported by Gulf News). [12, 13, 14]
The families in detail
1. Adani family
- Forbes India 2026: Gautam Adani & family, USD 112.7 billion, No. 1 [1]
- Hurun India 2026: Gautam Adani & family, INR 9.23 lakh crore, No. 1 [3, 4, 15]
How the fortune was made. Gautam Adani set up the company that became Adani Enterprises in 1988, after moving into global trading by importing PVC, according to Bloomberg (as published by Gulf News). Group companies include Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and SEZ and Adani Green Energy, according to Business Standard. [16, 17]
Who runs it. Gautam Adani is chairman and founder of the Adani Group, according to Adani Enterprises. The group's websites list his sons Karan Adani as managing director of Adani Ports and SEZ and Jeet Adani as director of the airports business (a director of Adani Airport Holdings), and his nephews Pranav Adani as an executive director of Adani Enterprises and Sagar Adani as executive director of Adani Green Energy; the family relationships are as described by Bloomberg. [16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22]
Succession. Bloomberg reported in August 2024 that Gautam Adani plans to step down at 70, opening a leadership transition in the early 2030s, and that his sons Karan and Jeet and nephews Pranav and Sagar would become equal beneficiaries of a family trust. On 7 August 2024 Adani Enterprises said he had been misquoted about heirs and equal beneficial interest in the family trust and had not specified any date or point in time, according to Business Today. [16, 23]
Family office. Not found in public sources. []
2. Ambani family
- Forbes India 2026: Mukesh Ambani, USD 86.3 billion, No. 2 [1]
- Hurun India 2026: Mukesh Ambani & family, INR 8.63 lakh crore, No. 2 [3, 4]
How the fortune was made. Dhirubhai Ambani founded Reliance and took it public in 1977. His son Mukesh Ambani took the helm of Reliance 25 years ago, by his own account in June 2026. Reliance Industries now runs energy, consumer (retail) and technology (Jio) businesses; its consolidated revenues for the 2025-26 financial year were INR 11,75,919 crore (USD 124.0 billion), according to the chairman's statement at the June 2026 annual general meeting. [2]
Who runs it. Mukesh D. Ambani (second generation) is Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries. His children Isha, Akash and Anant Ambani (third generation) had completed three years on the Reliance board by June 2026: Isha leads the consumer businesses, Akash the technology businesses and Anant the energy businesses. [2, 6]
Succession. At the annual general meeting on 19 June 2026, Mukesh Ambani said the generational transfer of day-to-day management at Reliance is almost complete and that Isha, Akash and Anant are heading the Jio Platforms IPO process. The Jio Platforms board approved its draft red herring prospectus that day, to be filed with SEBI the same day. [2, 6]
Family office. Not found in public sources. []
3. Jindal family
How the fortune was made. O.P. Jindal laid the foundation of the O.P. Jindal Group in 1952, starting with a single steel plant in Hisar, Haryana. The group's portfolio now spans steel, mining, steel pipes, industrial gases, cement and seaport facilities, and its companies include JSW Steel, Jindal Steel Ltd, Jindal Stainless and Jindal SAW. [25]
Who runs it. Savitri Jindal is Chairperson Emeritus of the O.P. Jindal Group. In the second generation, Prithavi Raj Jindal is non-executive chairperson of Jindal SAW, Sajjan Jindal is chairperson of JSW Steel, Ratan Jindal is chairperson and managing director of Jindal Stainless, and Naveen Jindal is chairperson of Jindal Steel Ltd. [25]
Succession. After O.P. Jindal died in 2005, the group's companies were divided among his four sons, who now run them independently, according to Forbes. At Jindal SAW, P.R. Jindal's daughters Shraddha Prithvi Rj and Tripti Jindal Arya, granddaughters of O.P. Jindal, became joint managing directors in 2023, according to the company; Sminu Jindal is managing director. [24, 25]
Family office. Not found in public sources. []
4. Lakshmi Mittal family
- Forbes India 2026: Lakshmi Mittal, USD 34.7 billion, No. 4 [1]
- Hurun India 2026: LN Mittal & family, INR 3.39 lakh crore, No. 3 [3, 4, 15]
How the fortune was made. Lakshmi Mittal moved to Indonesia in 1976 to set up a small steel company and grew the business through acquisitions in North and South America, Europe, South Africa and the CIS; Mittal Steel, formed in 2004, then merged with Arcelor to create ArcelorMittal, according to the company. He controls a 38% stake in ArcelorMittal, according to Gulf News (November 2025). [14, 26]
Who runs it. Lakshmi Mittal is executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, a role he took in February 2021 after serving as chief executive; his son Aditya Mittal is chief executive officer and his daughter Vanisha Mittal Bhatia is a non-independent director, according to the company. In May 2026 the Mittal family agreed to buy about 75% of the IPL cricket team Rajasthan Royals, with Adar Poonawalla taking about 18%, at an enterprise value of USD 1.65 billion; the deal was subject to approvals, and Lakshmi, Aditya and Vanisha Mittal were to sit on the team's new board, according to PTI. [26, 27, 28, 29]
Succession. Not found in public sources. []
Family office. Not found in public sources. []
5. Sunil Mittal family
How the fortune was made. Sunil Mittal built Bharti Airtel, one of India's largest mobile phone operators, with Singtel as its partner; Forbes lists the fortune as self-made. In 2024 Bharti Global, the group's London-headquartered international arm, bought a 24.5% stake in BT Group, according to Forbes. [8, 30]
Who runs it. Sunil Bharti Mittal (first generation) is chairman of Bharti Airtel and has secured a further five-year term, according to Business Standard; Gopal Vittal, its former chief executive, is executive vice-chairman. His brothers Rakesh and Rajan Mittal sit on the Indus Towers board, and his son Shravin Bharti Mittal is managing director of Bharti Global, according to Business Today. [8, 10]
Succession. Airtel Africa announced on 25 March 2026 that Sunil Bharti Mittal would retire as its chair at the end of its July 2026 annual general meeting, with Gopal Vittal to become non-executive chair and Shravin Bharti Mittal deputy chair from then; the meeting was held on 9 July 2026, and its notice said Sunil Bharti Mittal would step down at its conclusion. On an earnings call in May 2026 he announced a 10-year generational shift at Bharti Airtel and said the promoter entity Bharti Telecom, which holds 40.5% of Airtel, should become its single controlling shareholder at around 51%, according to Business Standard. [8, 31, 32, 33]
Family office. Bharti Global, the London-headquartered international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, is run by Shravin Bharti Mittal as managing director, according to Business Standard and Business Today. It invested in the satellite operator OneWeb and in 2024 bought 24.5% of BT Group; Sunil Mittal joined BT's board in September 2025, according to Forbes. [8, 10, 30]
6. Poonawalla family
- Forbes India 2026: Cyrus Poonawalla, USD 28.4 billion, No. 6 [1]
- Hurun India 2026: Cyrus S Poonawalla & family, INR 3.03 lakh crore, No. 4 [4, 34]
How the fortune was made. Cyrus Poonawalla founded Serum Institute of India in Pune in 1966, and Forbes describes it as the world's largest vaccine maker by doses, with more than 1.5 billion doses a year. According to Forbes, the family also owns a majority stake in the listed financial services firm Poonawalla Fincorp and a stake in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Pune. In May 2026 Adar Poonawalla joined Lakshmi Mittal in buying the IPL cricket team Rajasthan Royals, in a deal that valued the team at USD 1.65 billion; Forbes reports Adar's share as an 18% stake bought for USD 300 million. [1, 5, 35]
Who runs it. The group is run by founder Cyrus Poonawalla (first generation) and his son Adar Poonawalla (second generation), who is chief executive of Serum Institute, according to Forbes. [35]
Succession. Not found in public sources. []
Family office. Not found in public sources. []
7. Nadar family
- Forbes India 2026: Shiv Nadar, USD 27.4 billion, No. 7 [1]
- Hurun India 2026: Roshni Nadar Malhotra & family, INR 2.79 lakh crore, No. 5 [4, 34]
How the fortune was made. Shiv Nadar co-founded HCL in 1976 with five friends to make calculators and microprocessors, according to Forbes. The main listed company today is HCL Technologies (HCLTech), one of India's largest software services firms. Shiv Nadar has given USD 1.1 billion to the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which funds education, according to Forbes. [36]
Who runs it. Roshni Nadar Malhotra (second generation) has been chairperson of HCLTech since July 2020, when her father Shiv Nadar stepped down as chairman; he is now chairman emeritus and strategic advisor, according to Forbes and Business Today. [5, 9, 36]
Succession. On 6 March 2025 Shiv Nadar executed gift deeds transferring his 47% shareholding in each of the family holding companies Vama Delhi and HCL Corp to his daughter Roshni Nadar Malhotra, under 'a private family arrangement intended to streamline succession', according to HCL Infosystems' filing to BSE and NSE. Before the gift he held 51% of each company and she held 10.33%; the filing says she acquires control and becomes the majority shareholder. Business Today reports that SEBI exempted her from making an open offer. [7, 9, 36]
Family office. The family holds its shares in HCLTech and HCL Infosystems through two private holding companies, HCL Corp and Vama Delhi, which Roshni Nadar Malhotra has controlled since March 2025; Vama Delhi holds 44.17% of HCLTech and HCL Corp 0.17%, according to Business Today. A separate family investment office was not found in public sources. [7, 9]
8. Shanghvi family
- Forbes India 2026: Dilip Shanghvi, USD 26.3 billion, No. 8 [1]
- Hurun India 2026: Dilip Shanghvi, INR 2.65 lakh crore, No. 7 [4, 34]
How the fortune was made. Dilip Shanghvi, the son of a pharmaceutical distributor, started Sun Pharmaceutical Industries in 1983 with USD 200 borrowed from his father, first making psychiatric drugs, according to Forbes. Sun grew through a series of acquisitions, the biggest being the USD 4 billion purchase of Ranbaxy Laboratories in 2015, and about two thirds of its revenue now comes from outside India. In May 2025 Sun bought US skin cancer drug maker Checkpoint Therapeutics for USD 355 million, Forbes reports. [37]
Who runs it. Founder Dilip Shanghvi (first generation) is Executive Chairman of Sun Pharma, a title he took on 1 September 2025 when Kirti Ganorkar succeeded him as managing director, according to the company's June 2025 stock exchange filing. His son Aalok Shanghvi (second generation) is a whole-time director and chief operating officer and was also given responsibility for the North America business, according to the same filing; Forbes reports that he was appointed chief operating officer in February 2025. [37, 38]
Succession. No announced transfer of the family's Sun Pharma shares, family trust arrangement or family settlement was found in public sources. In June 2025 Sun Pharma announced that Kirti Ganorkar would succeed Dilip Shanghvi as managing director from 1 September 2025, with Dilip Shanghvi staying on as Executive Chairman, and that Aalok Shanghvi, whole-time director and chief operating officer, would also take charge of the North America business. [37, 38]
Family office. Not found in public sources. []
9. Birla family
- Forbes India 2026: Kumar Birla, USD 23.2 billion, No. 9 [1]
- Hurun India 2026: Kumar Mangalam Birla & family, INR 2.69 lakh crore, No. 6 [4, 34]
How the fortune was made. The Aditya Birla Group has about USD 67 billion in revenue, nearly half of it earned outside India, according to Forbes. Its businesses include cement, textiles, aluminium, telecom, financial services and paints, and it has recently moved into branded jewellery and hospitality. [39]
Who runs it. Kumar Mangalam Birla, the fourth generation, has led the group since 1995, when he took over at 28 after the death of his father, Aditya Birla, according to Forbes. [39]
Succession. Kumar Mangalam Birla's children Ananya Birla and Aryaman Birla (fifth generation) joined the boards of Grasim Industries and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail in 2023, according to Forbes. They were also appointed additional non-executive directors of Hindalco Industries from 1 September 2024 and of Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands, the business demerged from Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, from 20 May 2025, according to the companies' stock exchange filings. No transfer of holding-company stakes or family settlement was found in public sources. [39, 40, 41]
Family office. Not found in public sources. []
10. Hinduja family
How the fortune was made. The business was started by Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja, who traded goods in Sindh before moving to Iran in 1919; his sons moved the base from Iran to London in 1979, according to Forbes. The Hinduja Group's interests run from trucks and lubricants to banking and cable television, and the family also owns London property, including the Raffles London hotel in the Old War Office building, opened in September 2023. [12]
Who runs it. The second generation still leads: Prakash P. Hinduja is chairman of Hinduja Group (Europe) and Ashok P. Hinduja is chairman of the Hinduja Group of Companies (India), according to the group's website. Srichand P. Hinduja, the eldest brother and group chairman, died on 17 May 2023, and Gopichand P. Hinduja, who chaired the group after him, died on 4 November 2025. [12, 42]
Succession. After Gopichand Hinduja's death in November 2025, the group's website names chairmen for Europe (Prakash) and India (Ashok) but no single group chairman, and no succession plan for the next generation was found in public sources. Forbes reports that a June 2020 UK court filing revealed a dispute between Srichand Hinduja and his three younger brothers over ownership of a Geneva bank. In November 2022 the family agreed a truce: a ruling of the Court of Appeal in London said the family had reached a confidential agreement to settle the litigation in London and abroad, according to Reuters. [12, 42, 43]
Family office. Not found in public sources. []
Forbes India 2026: ranks 11 to 20
11 Radhakishan Damani & family, USD 20.4 billion; 12 Bajaj Family, USD 19.8 billion; 13 Sudhir & Samir Mehta, USD 17.5 billion; 14 Uday Kotak, USD 14 billion; 15 Murali Divi & family, USD 13.8 billion; 16 Kushal Pal Singh, USD 13 billion; 17 Madhukar Parekh & family, USD 12 billion; 18 Vikram Lal & family, USD 11.4 billion; 19 Jamshyd Godrej & Smita Godrej Crishna, USD 10.9 billion; 20 Ravi Jaipuria, USD 10.7 billion. [44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53]
Hurun's 2026 top 10
In Indian rupees: 1 Gautam Adani & family, INR 9.23 lakh crore; 2 Mukesh Ambani & family, INR 8.63 lakh crore; 3 LN Mittal & family, INR 3.39 lakh crore; 4 Cyrus S Poonawalla & family, INR 3.03 lakh crore; 5 Roshni Nadar Malhotra & family, INR 2.79 lakh crore; 6 Kumar Mangalam Birla & family, INR 2.69 lakh crore; 7 Dilip Shanghvi, INR 2.65 lakh crore; 8 Azim Premji & family, INR 2.63 lakh crore; 9 Anil Agarwal & family, INR 2.08 lakh crore; 10 Samir Mehta & family, INR 1.89 lakh crore (as reported by Business Standard; one lakh crore is one trillion rupees). [4]
Bloomberg's ranking of Asian families (2025)
Bloomberg's most recent ranking of Asia's 20 richest families that we found, reported by Business Standard on 13 February 2025, put the Ambani family first in Asia with USD 90.5 billion, the Mistry family fourth with USD 37.5 billion, the Jindal family seventh with USD 28.1 billion and the Birla family ninth with USD 23 billion; the Bajaj family was also in the top 20. These figures are older than the Forbes and Hurun lists above. [54]
How the rankings work
India's 100 Richest 2026 (Forbes, published 30 September 2026; values as of the close of markets on 11 September 2026). Unlike the Forbes World's Billionaires list, it includes family fortunes, including those shared among extended families such as the Bajaj and Burman families. It is compiled from shareholding and financial information from families and individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and India's regulatory agencies, and private companies are valued against similar listed companies. It can also include foreign citizens with business, residential or other ties to India. The top 100 hold USD 1 trillion, unchanged from the previous list; the minimum net worth to qualify fell to USD 3 billion from USD 3.2 billion. Four newcomers and seven returnees joined, and 11 people dropped off. [1, 5]
M3M Hurun India Rich List 2026 (Hurun India and M3M India, published 23 September 2026; values as of 24 August 2026). Tracks individuals born or brought up in India with a net worth of at least INR 1,000 crore; many entries are listed with '& family'. Figures are in Indian rupees. Unlisted companies are valued from recent funding rounds or against listed peers using industry valuation multiples. Wealth was measured on 24 August 2026 at INR 95.63 to the US dollar, according to Business Today. It is the 15th edition. 1,810 individuals with at least INR 1,000 crore each; combined wealth INR 187.5 lakh crore (about USD 1.96 trillion), up 12.8%; a record 391 dollar billionaires, 27 more than a year earlier. [3, 4]
Questions
Who is the richest family in India in 2026?
The Adani family. Forbes puts Gautam Adani & family at USD 112.7 billion (values of 11 September 2026) and Hurun at INR 9.23 lakh crore (24 August 2026), No. 1 on both lists. Mukesh Ambani is second on both. [1, 3]
Is the Tata family the richest in India?
No. Most of Tata Sons, the group's holding company, belongs to charitable trusts rather than to the family: 66% of its equity share capital is held by philanthropic trusts, according to Tata. The Mistry family, which Forbes ranks No. 21 with USD 10.4 billion, owns an 18.4% stake in Tata Sons, according to Forbes. [55, 56]
Why do Forbes and Hurun give different figures?
They measure on different dates (Forbes at the close of markets on 11 September 2026, Hurun on 24 August 2026), in different currencies (US dollars and rupees), and they count differently: Forbes India counts family fortunes, while Hurun lists individuals, many of them with '& family'. [1, 3]
How many family offices are there in India?
There is no official count. Estimates cited by EY and Julius Baer (August 2026) put the number at nearly 300 by 2024-25, up from about 45 in 2018, and the report notes that comprehensive data is not available. A PwC report put it at more than 300, up from 45 in 2018, as reported by Business Standard in July 2024. [11, 57]
