UAE hub for super-rich NRIs

Dh/Billions

The UAE, a sought after destination for the world's high net worth individuals, is now ranked as the most favourite migration hub for the super rich non-resident Indians.
A leading authority on India's private wealth, Hurun Report, said two other countries preferred as a migration destination by India's 40 super rich non-residents are the UK and the USA.
"With 14 wealthy non-resident Indians, the UAE is the most preferred destination for immigration, followed by 10 in the UK and eight in USA," Hurun Report said.
Among the 40, with Rs882 billion, L.N. Mittal of ArcelorMittal is the wealthiest Indian immigrant in the UK. Micky Jagtiani of the Landmark Group, and M.A. Yusuf Ali of the Emke Group are ranked respectively second and third wealthiest Indian immigrants globally. Both, residents of the UAE, own Rs347 billion and Rs319 billion, respectively in fortune.
According to the Hurun India Rich List - a list of the richest people in India with a cut-off at Rs10 billion - other wealthy non-resident Indians in the UAE include Sunny Varkey (Gems Education); BR Shetty (NMC), Adani Vinodbhai Shantilal (Adani Enterprises), Ravi Pillai (RP Group), Feroz Allana (IFFCO), Divyank Turakhia (Media.Net), Shamsheer Vayalil (VPS Healthcare), Tony Jashanmal (Jashanmal), Saket Burman (Dabur), Azad Moopen (Aster DM Healthcare) Rizwan Sajan (Danube) and Ramesh S. Ramakrishnan (Transworld).
"The total number of rich list entrants increased 6 times since we launched the list six years ago; a good indication that Indian entrepreneurs are coming of age with global ambitions," said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Global, Chairman and Chief Researcher.
With a networth of Rs2.579 trillion, Mukesh Ambani (60) of Reliance, ranked first in the list of super rich Indians for the sixth consecutive year. With a networth of Rs890 billion, Dilip Shanghvi (61) of Sun Pharma retains the second place despite shares of his flagship company going down by 36 per cent. The steel baron, Lakshmi Niwas Mittal (67) secures third position for the first time with a networth of Rs882 billion due to an uptick in steel prices and demand. Others among the top 10 include Shiv Nadar (HCL), Azim Premji (Wipro), Cyrus S Poonawalla (Serum Institute of India), Gautam Adani (Adani Enterprises), Acharya Balkrishna (Patanjali Ayurved), Uday Kotak (Kotak Mahind), and Sunil Mittal & Family (Bharti Airtel).
Hurun Report finds 617 individuals with Rs10 billion or more, up 278 from last year, quadrupled from three years ago. On average, the wealth of Hurun India Rich Listers have increased by 17 per cent compared to that of last year. Number of dollar billionaires has increased to 136 from 126 last year. The inaugural Hurun India Rich List in 2012 had 59 billionaires. "For every one entrepreneur in Hurun India Rich List 2017, we estimate that we missed 3", said Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun Report India
Among the listed, 16 saw their wealth double year-on-year basis. Average age of the Hurun India Rich List is 60.The fastest riser is Radhakishan Damani (62) of Avenue Supermarts. He registered a three times increase in wealth to Rs297 billion. Around 100 individuals saw their wealth decline. Haridwar-based Acharya Balkrishna (45) of Patanjali rose to 8th position, from 25th last year, after seeing his wealth grow by 173 per cent to Rs700 billion. Eklavya Juneja (24) of Mankind Pharma is the youngest person in the list. He owns 12 per cent of Mankind Pharma which was founded by father Rajeev Juneja.
Pharmaceuticals dominate with 13 per cent of the list, followed by FMCG and chemical & petrochemicals with 10 per cent and six per cent, respectively.
- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com
Methodology
In order to get these results, the Hurun India Rich's methodology involved taking a snapshot of wealth as on 31 July 2017. The exchange rate used for US$ was INR 64.1. The list relates to those with Indian origin on their passports. 
The valuing of the wealth of India's richest is as much an art as it is a science. It is believed that the Hurun India Rich List is one of the most serious attempts to identify India's top entrepreneurs and to measure their holdings. 
 

Issac John

issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com