Four Parsis feature in Forbes magazine’s 2020 list of top richest Indians with three of the four being in the top 10. Founder of the Serum Institute of India, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla is ranked sixth, with wealth of USD 11.5 bn, up 26 % from USD 9.1 bn the previous year when he was ranked 12th. Head of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Pallonji Mistry was ranked at seventh place with a net worth of USD 11.4 bn. Last year, the industrialist weighed in at fourth place with USD 15 bn. The Godrej family stood at ninth place in 2020 with a fortune of USD 11 bn. The previous year, the family was ranked eighth with a net worth of USD 12 bn. Nusli Wadia of the Wadia Group ranked 36th in the 2020 list with a net worth of USD 4.0 bn. For 2019, Wadia ranked 18th (USD 7.1 bn). At 91, Mistry, with businessman Devendra Jain, was the oldest person on the list.
The Business Standard of October 9 in an article on the list noted that half of the nation’s 100 richest saw gains, rising a collective 14% to USD 517.5 bn. Scion of the Reliance conglomerate Mukesh Ambani, who added USD 37.3 bn to his fortune, stood at the top of the Indian list for the 13th year, with USD 88.7 bn. The two richest persons in the world are founder of e-commerce giant Amazon Jeff Bezos (USD 113 bn) and philanthropist and founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates (USD 98 bn).
One billion US dollars is equivalent to 7,411 crores in Indian rupees (November 11, 2020).
From l, 1st row, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, Pallonji Mistry;
2nd row, Adi and Nadir Godrej; 3rd row, Jamshyd Godrej,
Smita Crishna; last row: Nusli Wadia