India now has 3,040 individuals with a combined wealth of Rs 104 lakh crore, but wealth still remains concentrated among few families: Report

The number of the wealthy in India is growing and while wealth still remains concentrated among a few families, first-generation entrepreneurs now outnumber legacy business owners, according to a new study.

According to the 360 ONE Wealth Creators List 2026, released in collaboration with Crisil Intelligence, India now has 3,040 individuals with a combined wealth of Rs 104 lakh crore and a wealth threshold of Rs 425 crore.

The Ambani heirs - Anant, Isha and Akash - continue to hold the top three positions on the list, each commanding wealth exceeding Rs 2.75 lakh crore.

As such, industrial conglomerates dominate the list, with 30 individuals commanding 14.6 per cent of total wealth and an average wealth of Rs 50,000 crore per individual.

However, things are changing. First-generation entrepreneurs now outnumber legacy wealth creators in a major shift. There are 1,696 individuals on the list, compared with 1,290 legacy business owners, their heirs and stewards.

"From an India perspective, our economy has always been more associated with the family houses, with the legacy. But, having a majority of these individuals being in the category of first generation founders, it's a big pivotal shift," said Priti Arora, president and business head, Crisil Intelligence.

Notably, the median age is also declining, with the median age this year at 57, compared with over 60 previously.

Another important point to note is the growing prominence of women wealth creators; there are 738 women on the list, collectively holding 22.6 per cent of the total wealth. Among these, there are 51 women aged under 40, holding an average wealth of Rs 6,542 crore each.

Even as the number of wealthy first generation entrepreneurs is growing, wealth still remains concentrated in the hands of a few families, the study shows.

The top 100 families together hold Rs 76.5 lakh crore, with top 10 families alone accounting for 49 per cent of the wealth.

Gautam Adani and Family topped the list with wealth of Rs 9,08,178 crore, followed by Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani and Family at Rs 8,93,622 crore, and Sunil Bharti Mittal and Family at Rs 4,96,687 crore.

Traditional sectors including pharmaceuticals, financial services, construction machinery and engineering account for 83 per cent of total wealth. But there is a steady rise of India's new economy, with newer sectors like aerospace and defence, fintech and renewable energy, now contributing 15.5 per cent of total wealth, according to the study.

We are seeing the new age sectors like green energy scaling up, the policy support by the government is making domestic manufacturing viable and founders are increasingly recycling wealth into early-stage ventures, in a way the list is funding it's own succession, pointed Arora.

Geographically, Mumbai remains the country's wealth capital, with 802 wealth creators accounting for 38.4 per cent. of total wealth. Interestingly, Ahmedabad came in second, given the presence of industrial conglomerates and pharmaceutical majors.

Bengaluru was third, anchored by technology and engineering businesses, and New Delhi and Gurugram were the other cities in the top 5. As such, the top 5 cities accounted for 70.2 per cent of the total wealth of the list.