Harsh Goenka asks the big question: 'Can billionaire success lift a billion lives?'
India's billionaire count rose by 12% over the past year, taking the total to 191, up from 165 in 2023.
- Jul 15, 2025,
- Updated Jul 15, 2025 5:21 PM IST
RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka on Tuesday highlighted India's rise in global billionaire rankings, while raising a larger question about the country's wealth inequality. Sharing a graph, Goenka posted: "India ranks 3rd in billionaire wealth at $950B—just behind the US and China. Now the real challenge: can the billionaire success lift a billion lives?"
The accompanying infographic shows that the United States leads the world with $5.7 trillion in billionaire wealth, surpassing the combined total of the next ten countries at $5.5 trillion. China follows with $1.34 trillion, and India is now in third place with $950 billion in billionaire wealth—ahead of France ($670B), Germany ($640B), and the UK ($230B).
According to Knight Frank's The Wealth Report 2025, India's billionaire count rose by 12% over the past year, taking the total to 191, up from 165 in 2023. That includes 26 new billionaires added in just one year, a rate that outpaces growth seen in earlier years.
The report also shows India's broader wealth landscape expanding rapidly. With 85,698 individuals now having a net worth over $10 million, India is the fourth-largest hub of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) globally—behind only the US, China, and Japan. HNWIs from India now account for 3.7% of the global total.
This concentration of wealth is being driven by India's economic expansion, increased entrepreneurial activity, and access to capital. The report notes that digital infrastructure—smartphones and digital banking—has made wealth creation more accessible, marking a structural shift from earlier decades.
Knight Frank also projects that India's HNWI population will grow by 43% by 2028, reaching 122,119 individuals, one of the fastest growth rates among major economies. Indian investors are showing a stronger preference for equities and higher-risk assets, in contrast to conservative investment trends seen in regions like Europe and Japan.
Real estate continues to play a central role in billionaire portfolios globally, and the trend is especially pronounced in India. Nearly 30% of billionaire wealth is held in property, which remains both an investment class and a marker of social status for India's wealthy. Indian HNWIs are also increasingly investing abroad, especially in cities like Dubai, London, and Singapore.
RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka on Tuesday highlighted India's rise in global billionaire rankings, while raising a larger question about the country's wealth inequality. Sharing a graph, Goenka posted: "India ranks 3rd in billionaire wealth at $950B—just behind the US and China. Now the real challenge: can the billionaire success lift a billion lives?"
The accompanying infographic shows that the United States leads the world with $5.7 trillion in billionaire wealth, surpassing the combined total of the next ten countries at $5.5 trillion. China follows with $1.34 trillion, and India is now in third place with $950 billion in billionaire wealth—ahead of France ($670B), Germany ($640B), and the UK ($230B).
According to Knight Frank's The Wealth Report 2025, India's billionaire count rose by 12% over the past year, taking the total to 191, up from 165 in 2023. That includes 26 new billionaires added in just one year, a rate that outpaces growth seen in earlier years.
The report also shows India's broader wealth landscape expanding rapidly. With 85,698 individuals now having a net worth over $10 million, India is the fourth-largest hub of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) globally—behind only the US, China, and Japan. HNWIs from India now account for 3.7% of the global total.
This concentration of wealth is being driven by India's economic expansion, increased entrepreneurial activity, and access to capital. The report notes that digital infrastructure—smartphones and digital banking—has made wealth creation more accessible, marking a structural shift from earlier decades.
Knight Frank also projects that India's HNWI population will grow by 43% by 2028, reaching 122,119 individuals, one of the fastest growth rates among major economies. Indian investors are showing a stronger preference for equities and higher-risk assets, in contrast to conservative investment trends seen in regions like Europe and Japan.
Real estate continues to play a central role in billionaire portfolios globally, and the trend is especially pronounced in India. Nearly 30% of billionaire wealth is held in property, which remains both an investment class and a marker of social status for India's wealthy. Indian HNWIs are also increasingly investing abroad, especially in cities like Dubai, London, and Singapore.