Whose luck will shine in 2025?
The year 2025 was not the same for India’s richest families. Amidst the fluctuations in the stock market, selling by foreign investors, high valuations and global uncertainties, the wealth of some billionaires increased rapidly, while many big names also suffered losses. This year has made it clear that the market is not equally kind to everyone.
Lakshmi Mittal is at the forefront
Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal emerged as the biggest winner of 2025. There was a huge jump in his net worth and his wealth reached new heights with double-digit growth in a year. The rise in shares of ArcelorMittal, better earnings and positive signals related to trade policy in Europe gave them big profits.
Vikram Lal and Sunil Mittal got benefit
Eicher Motors founder Vikram Lal was also among the top gainers. Royal Enfield’s strong sales, new models and improvement in exports pushed the company’s shares higher, which led to a big increase in his wealth. At the same time, there was a good increase in the wealth of Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal. Expectations of better cash flow, limited capex and tariff reforms in the telecom sector supported Airtel shares.
Ambani, Birla and Kotak also in profit
An increase was also recorded in the net worth of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani. Better performance of energy, retail and telecom business strengthened the shares of Reliance. Kumar Mangalam Birla of Aditya Birla Group benefited from the good performance of group companies. There was also an increase in the wealth of big names like Uday Kotak and Nusli Wadia.
Also read:
Mukesh Ambani can buy the hospital where Amitabh Bachchan’s granddaughter was born!
Who suffered loss?
While the fortunes of some improved, many billionaires suffered losses. The biggest decline was seen in the wealth of Ravi Jaipuria of RJ Corp. Increasing competition in the beverage sector and tax concerns put pressure on the shares of his companies. The slowdown in the real estate sector also affected the wealth of Mangal Prabhat Lodha and DLF’s KP Singh. Shares of these companies remained weak due to slow pace of sales in big cities.
Pharma and IT also under pressure
Some big names of pharma and IT sector also remained under pressure this year. Due to weak stock performance, the wealth of industrialists like Dilip Shanghvi, Cyrus Poonawalla, Shiv Nadar and Azim Premji declined.