(TIP): Rakesh Gangwal, is the richest Indian American. The cofounder of India’s budget airline Indigo is worth $3.3 billion, according to Forbes’ latest list of The World’s Billionaires, which was released on March 6.
Information technology entrepreneur and philanthropist Romesh T. Wadhwani, who led the list last year, is the second richest Indian American, with a net worth of $3.1 billion.
The latest Forbes list, which has a record 2,208 members, has two new Indian American billionaires: Niraj Shah, CEO and cofounder of e-commerce company Wayfair, and Arista Networks CEO Jayshree Ullal.
According to Forbes, the 44-year-old Shah, a second generation Indian American based in Boston, is worth $1.6 billion. Ullal, who was born in London and raised in Delhi, is worth $1.3 billion.
Other Indian Americans billionaires are venture capitalist Vinod Khosla (who is worth $2.3 billion); venture capitalist and Google investor Kavitark Ram Shriram ($2.1 billion); Vista Equity Partners cofounder Brian Sheth ($2 billion); pharmaceutical executive John Kapoor ($1.8 billion); software executive and investor Aneel Bhusri ($1.6 billion); and Syntel cofounder Bharat Desai ($1.1 billion).
The wealth of Gangwal, who owns more than a third of IndiGo, increased by a whopping $1.2 billion in the past year. Sheth, the youngest Indian American billionaire at 42, saw his wealth go up by $900 million, while Khosla’s net worth increased by $700 million. The net worth of Wadhwani, Shriram, Kapoor and Desai increased by $100 million each in the past 12 months.
The combined net worth of Indian American billionaires is $20.2 billion.
The richest South Asian American is Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, who has a net worth of $7.2 billion.
Source: Forbes