Roshni Nadar Malhotra, heiress of HCL Technologies, is the richest Indian woman for the second year in a row, with assets worth over Rs 84,330 crore. However, Falguni Nayar, the founder of e-commerce firm Nykaa, has surpassed Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon to become India’s richest self-made woman, with a fortune of Rs 57,520 crore.
The wealth of India’s 100 richest women has increased, with the cut-off for the new list rising to Rs 300 crore from Rs 100 crore in 2020. The ‘Kotak Private Banking Hurun – Leading Wealthy Women List’ compiles information on India’s wealthiest women on an annual basis. The women on the 2021 list have an average wealth of approximately Rs 4,170 crore, up from Rs 2,725 crore in the previous edition.
Despite rising wealth, the gender gap remains significant. While the top 100 women’s wealth accounts for 2.8 percent of GDP, the top 100 in Hurun’s general rich list account for nearly 39 percent of GDP. There is a link between women’s participation in management and being on the rich list, according to Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and chief researcher at Hurun India.
Three professional executives made the list, led by Pepsico’s Indra Nooyi, who has a fortune of Rs 5,040 crore. Renu Sud Karnad of HDFC (Rs 870 crore) and Shanti Ekambaram of Kotak Mahindra Bank (Rs 320 crore) are the other two because of gains in the value of the shares they received as executives. There are 25 new names on the list, led by Neha Narkhede, co-founder of streaming data technology company Confluent (wealth of Rs 13,380 crore). She is the only Indian woman on the “Hurun Global U40 Self-made Billionaires List 2022.”
Divya Gokulnath (36) of Byju’s and Ruchi Kalra (38) of OfBusiness are the richest of the eight startup founders, with fortunes of Rs 4,550 crore and Rs 2,600 crore, respectively. Apollo Hospitals Enterprise contributed the most women leaders to the list, with four, followed by Metro Shoes and Devi Sea Foods, both of which contributed two entrants.