New Delhi, Sep 30 : Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped Forbes magazine's list of the 100 richest Indians for the third year in-a-row, pipping billionaires like L N Mittal and Azim Premji with a net worth of $ 27 billion.
As per the Forbes research study, the combined net worth of India's 100 richest people rose to $ 300 billion this year from $ 276 billion last year, driven by the country's booming economy and a rally in the stock market.
According to the Forbes India Rich List, there are 69 billionaires this year, compared to 52 last year.
Ambani was followed by the steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, who retained his second position in the list with a net worth of USD 26.1 billion. However, the wealth of both of these billionaires is believed to have slipped by 15 per cent from the previous amount.
Mukesh's younger sibling Anil Ambani lost the third spot on the list to IT major Wipro and fell to sixth rank.Premji's wealth has increased to USD 17.6 billion from USD 14.9 billion last year, taking him to the third spot from the fourth place last year.
Fourth on the list was Essar Energy brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia with a net worth of USD 15 billion, bolstered by the company's IPO in London, which raised USD 1.85 billion. PTI
