Gautam Adani and his family have reclaimed the top position on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2026, overtaking Mukesh Ambani and family as India’s wealthiest business group. Adani’s wealth rose 13% over the past year to ₹9.23 lakh crore, while Ambani’s wealth fell 10% to ₹8.63 lakh crore.
The gap between the two stood at ₹59,400 crore, according to the latest rich list released on September 23. In dollar terms, Adani’s wealth was estimated at $96 billion, compared with $90 billion for Ambani.
The shift at the top is part of a broader change in India’s wealth landscape. The number of dollar billionaires in the country has reached a record 391, an increase of 27 from the previous year. The wider Hurun list tracks 1,810 individuals with wealth of at least ₹1,000 crore, up by 128 from last year and 803 over five years.
The combined wealth of those on the ₹1,000-crore list rose 12.8% to ₹187.5 lakh crore, showing how quickly India’s pool of high-net-worth individuals continues to expand. The list now covers 163 cities, including 106 cities within India.
Mumbai remains the main centre of wealth creation, with 465 people on the list. New Delhi follows with 236, while Bengaluru has 129. Mumbai alone is home to 93 dollar billionaires.
Big moves at the top
While Adani returned to the No. 1 position, several other major business families also saw significant changes in their fortunes.
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal and family of ArcelorMittal climbed eight places to third. Their wealth jumped 93% to ₹3.39 lakh crore. The increase was linked to firmer regional steel prices and Europe’s trade protection measures for the steel industry. Mittal recorded the largest absolute increase in wealth among those on the list, adding ₹1.64 lakh crore.
Anil Agarwal and family of Vedanta Resources moved up seven places to ninth, with wealth rising 87% to ₹2.08 lakh crore. Samir Mehta and family of Torrent Pharmaceuticals entered the top 10 at ₹1.89 lakh crore, following a 52% rise in wealth linked in part to the completion of the JB Chemicals merger.
The changes highlight the continuing importance of traditional sectors such as metals, pharmaceuticals, energy and manufacturing in India’s wealth creation.
At the same time, newer industries are beginning to make a much bigger mark.
AI becomes a wealth creator
Artificial intelligence has made its debut as a separate sector in the M3M Hurun India Rich List. Nineteen individuals associated with AI businesses feature on the list, with combined wealth of ₹3.07 lakh crore. Fifteen of them are new entrants.
The AI fortunes stretch across several parts of the technology ecosystem, including data centres, semiconductors, AI models and applications. Among the new names are Tanay Kothari and Sahaj Garg, both 28, who entered the list with ₹4,200 crore each through their AI company Wispr Flow.
The rise of AI wealth is not limited to companies based in India. Thirteen of the 19 AI names on the list are based outside the country, reflecting the global reach of Indian-origin technology entrepreneurs.
Data centres are another emerging source of wealth. Sridhar Pinnapureddy and family of CTRL S Datacentres have a wealth of ₹46,100 crore, while Darshan Hiranandani of Yotta has ₹37,900 crore. Their businesses are benefiting from rising demand for computing capacity and data storage as cloud services and AI applications expand.
Quantum computing enters the list
The rich list also records India’s first quantum-computing entrepreneur. Nagendra Nagaraja of Bengaluru-based QpiAI entered with wealth of ₹1,700 crore.
His entry reflects a wider expansion of India’s deep-tech ecosystem. AI, aerospace and defence, and semiconductors together account for 48 individuals with combined wealth of ₹4.26 lakh crore. Thirty of these individuals are new entrants this year.
The aerospace and defence sector alone added 23 entrants with combined wealth of ₹85,200 crore, showing how emerging technologies and strategic industries are becoming increasingly important to wealth creation.
New wealth beyond India
Some of the biggest new names on the list are also based outside India. Renuka Jagtiani of Landmark Group emerged as the biggest new entrant, with wealth of ₹70,500 crore. Sridhar Pinnapureddy, Darshan Hiranandani and Ravi Pillai were among the other major new entrants.
Eight of the 10 biggest new entrants live outside India, with several based in Dubai, the US and other global business centres. The list includes entrepreneurs connected to retail, data centres, semiconductors, investment management and technology.
The latest list also shows the growing role of professional managers and investors in India’s wealth story. Jayshree Ullal of Arista Networks leads among professional managers of Indian origin, followed by Google’s Sundar Pichai and Palo Alto Networks’ Nikesh Arora.
India’s wealth creation, therefore, is no longer being driven only by established family businesses. Traditional industries continue to dominate the upper end of the list, but AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, data centres and aerospace are creating a new generation of wealthy entrepreneurs.
The return of Adani to the top captures one side of that changing picture. The growing number of technology-led fortunes shows the other.