The 20 richest people in India

India's rising stock market and a booming economy have boosted the net worth of India's richest people, according to a list compiled by the Business Standard.

The top five richest people in India account for almost a third of the total net worth of the 657 billionaires in the list.

There were 106 additions to the super-rich list in 2010.

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Rank 1: Mukesh Ambani

Flagship company: Reliance Industries

Industry: Refineries

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 1,40,078.91 crore (Rs 1,400.79 billion)

Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, the largest private sector enterprise in India, a Fortune 500 company, and one of the largest private sector conglomerates in the world.

His personal stake in Reliance Industries is 48 per cent.

As of July 2010, he is the richest man in Asia and the fourth richest man in the world.

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Rank 2: Gautam S Adani

Flagship company: Adani Enterprises

Industry: Trading

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 91,271.80 crore (Rs 912.72 billion)

The chairman of the Adani Group is the first billionaire from the city of Ahmedabad.

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Rank 3: Azim Premji

Flagship company: Wipro

Industry: IT

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 90,425.85 crore (Rs 904.26 billion)

Azim Hashim Premji is a business tycoon, philanthropist and the chairman of Wipro Limited, a group company that holds Wipro Technologies, India's third largest software development company.

Wipro Limited, which dealt in hydrogenated cooking fats along with consumer products, grew from a company of $2.5 million to a giant under Premji's leadership.

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Rank 4: Anil Agarwal

Flagship company: Sterlite Industry

Industry: Metals

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 80,616.25 crore (Rs 806.16 billion)

Anil Agarwal founded Sterlite Industries, a business operating in the industrial sector in 1976 and then in 1986 established Vedanta Resources bringing together a variety of businesses owned by the Agarwal family.

Today, he is the executive chairman of the UK-based Vedanta.

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Rank 5: Anil Ambani

Flagship company: Reliance Comm

Industry: Telecom-Service

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 63,302.21 crore (Rs 633.02 billion)

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani is chairman of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, one of the largest private conglomerates in India, joined Reliance, the company founded by his late father Dhirubhai Ambani, in 1983 as co-chief executive officer.

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Rank 6: Sunil Mittal

Flagship company: Bharti Airtel

Industry: Telecom-Service

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 59,294.52 crore (Rs 592.95 billion)

Sunil Bharti Mittal, India's telecom mogul is also a philanthropist and the founder, chairman and group CEO of Bharti Enterprises.

He runs India's largest GSM-based mobile phone service and world's fifth largest wireless company with over 190 million customers across 19 countries in Asia and Africa.

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Rank 7: Prithviraj, Sajjan & Naveen Jindal

Flagship company: JSW Steel

Industry: Steel

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 56,156.38 crore (Rs 561.56 billion)

Prithviraj Jindal is the vice chairman of Jindal SAW Ltd, Sajjan Jindal is the vice chairman & managing director of JSW Steel Ltd, Naveen Jindal runs the rail & steel and power businesses of the Jindal Group, the fourth largest private sector Indian business group by assets and sales turnover.

The Jindal group was founded by his father O P Jindal. He is also the Chancellor of O P Jindal Global University, which has been founded in the memory of his father.

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Rank 8: Shashi & Ravi Ruia

Flagship company: Essar Shipping

Industry: Shipping

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 48,888.73 crore (Rs 488.89 billion)

Essar began as a construction company in 1969 and diversified into manufacturing, services and retail.

Essar is managed by Shashi Ruia, chairman - Essar Group and Ravi Ruia, vice chairman Essar Group.

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Rank 9: K P Singh and Family

Flagship company: DLF

Industry: Realty

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 38,867.24 crore (Rs 388.67 billion)

Kushal Pal Singh is a real estate mogul and the chairman and CEO of DLF Limited, India's largest real estate developer.

It has an estimated land bank of 10,255 acres with about 3,000 acres being in Gurgaon called DLF City.

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Rank 10: Kumar Mangalam Birla

Flagship company: Grasim Industries

Industry: Diversified

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 33,248.22 crore (Rs 332.48 billion)

Kumar Mangalam Birla is the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest conglomerate corporations in India.

Its diversified business include Grasim, Hindalco, UltraTech Cement, Aditya Birla Nuvo, Idea Cellular, Aditya Birla Retail and Aditya Birla Minacs in Canada and Chancellor of Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS Pilani).

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Rank 11: Dilip S Shanghvi

Flagship company: Sun Pharma

Industry: Pharmaceuticals

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 31,445.02 crore (Rs 314.45 billion)

Shanghvi started Sun Pharmaceuticals in 1983 and it is currently the fifth-largest drugmaker in India.

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Rank 12: Rahul Bajaj

Flagship company: Bajaj Auto

Industry: Automobiles

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 30,741.50 crore (Rs 307.41 billion)

Rahul Bajaj is a prominent industrialist and member of the Parliament.

He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001.

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Rank 13: Shiv Nadar

Flagship company: HCL Technologies

Industry: IT

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 20,848.19 crore (Rs 208.48 billion)

Shiv Nadar is the chairman and chief strategy officer of HCL Technologies.

He founded HCL in the mid-1970s.

Nicknamed by friends as 'Magus' (old Persian for wizard), Nadar, since the mid-1990s has focused his efforts in developing the educational system of India through SSN Trust.

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Rank 14: Jaiprakash Gaur

Flagship company: Jaiprakash Associates

Industry: Constructions

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 19,628.74 crore (Rs 196.29 billion)

The Jaypee Group, a five decade old conglomerate based in Noida, was founded by Jaiprakash Gaur.

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Rank 15: Keshub Mahindra

Flagship company: Mahindra & Mahindra

Industry: Automobiles

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 17,252.94 crore (Rs 172.53 billion)

Mahindra, who was chairman of Union Carbide's Indian subsidiary in 1984, when the gas leak took place, is chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, India's largest SUV maker.

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Rank 16: Kalanithi Maran

Flagship company: Sun TV Network

Industry: Media - Entertainment

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 15,964.86 crore (Rs 159.65 billion)

Kalanithi Maran is the chairman and managing director of Sun Network.

In June 2010, he acquired Spice Jet.

While his television channels and newspapers are primarliy concentrated in South India, his FM radio stations, DTH service and airlines are spread across the country.

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Rank 17: Adi Godrej

Flagship company: Godrej Industry

Industry: Chemicals

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 15,636.22 crore (Rs 156.36 billion)

Under Adi Godrej's leadership, the group is also involved in philanthropic activities.

Godrej is a major supporter of the World Wildlife Fund in India.

It has developed a green business campus in Vikhroli, Mumbai, which includes a 150-acre mangrove forest and a school for the children of company employees.

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Rank 18: Uday Kotak

Flagship company: Kotak Mahindra Bank

Industry: Banking

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 15,539.40 crore (Rs 155.39 billion)

Uday Kotak is the vice-chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

He owns a 50 per cent stake in the bank, which he founded.

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Rank 19: Ashwin Choksi, Ashwin Dani, Abhay Vakil

Flagship company: Asian Paints

Industry: Paints

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 13,783.01 crore (Rs 137.83 billion)

Son of one of four co-founders of Asian Paints, India's largest paints company, has been chairman since 1998 but now has no operational role.

Ashwin plays golf and likes to travel.

Dani's father co-founded the company in 1942 with three others and he joined in 1968.

He stepped back from operational role in 2009.

Vakil joined the board of Asian Paints in 1983.

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Rank 20: G M Rao

Flagship company: GMR Infra

Industry: Constructions

Wealth (December 2010): Rs 13,038.47 crore (Rs 130.38 billion)

Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao started in jute mills and went on to found the GMR group.

He expanded the GMR group into the energy and infrastructure sectors.

He owns the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket team Delhi Daredevils.