Half of Gujarat's richie rich are self-made: report

Half of Gujarat's richie rich are self-made, said a report Barclays Hurun India Rich List 2018. According to the report, 58 individuals have a total wealth of Rs 1,000 crore or more, of these 28 are self-made. The ratio in Gujarat is higher compared to 40 per cent for all India report.

It is for the first time that a separate report on Gujarat has been prepared.

The list is dominated by persons in the manufacturing sector, and those from the technology sector are very few. Nationally, and in cases of many states, the share of the technology sector is relatively higher. Moreover, none of the 58 individuals are from the realty sector.

"The list is based on data of Ministry of Corporate Affairs and pertains to those registered under Companies Act 2013. Many firms in Gujarat are partnership firms. We have not included them. It is likely that some of them may be left out," said Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and chief researcher of Hurun Report India.

Gautum Adani and family topped the list with wealth of Rs 71,200 crore. Adani is a first-generation entrepreneur. He is followed by Pankaj Patel with a wealth of Rs 32,100 crore. Patel, although inherited the business from his father, catapulted the business to a new orbit. Third in the list is Bhadresh Shah, founder and CEO of AIA Engineering is worth Rs 9,700 crore. In addition to 28 self-made entrepreneurs, 17 have inherited their wealth and are actively managing the business, so 45 of 58 individuals are actively involved in the business.

The list is dominated by pharmaceutical sector with 22 individuals, followed by Construction and Engineering (6), Software Services and FMCG (4 each), Food and Beverages and Jewellery (3 each), according to the report.

According to the report, the number of individuals has increased from 36 in 2017 to 58 in 2018.

But their cumulative wealth has not grown. Cumulative wealth of 36 individuals was Rs 2,40,200 crore in 2017, while the cumulative wealth of 58 individuals stood at Rs 2,54,400 crore. So in spite of rise of 22 individuals in the list, their income has risen by 14,200 crore only. Also the average wealth of individuals has dropped from Rs 6672 crore to Rs 4386 crore.

Inspite of being a decentralised economy, Ahmedabad dominated the list. Satyanarayan Bansal, CEO – private bank at Barclays said that, in every geography wealth creation begins in concentrated urban areas and then spread to other areas.

THE BIG ONES

Rajkot: Virani family of Balaji Wafers, Arvind Domadia and family of Kunal Structures, Pravin Patel and Arvind Patel of Patel Infrastructure

Surat: Savji Dholakia and family of Harikrishna Exports, Babu Lakhani and family of Kiran Gems, Laljibhai Tulsibhai Patel and Family of Dharmanandan Diamonds

Vadodara: Ashwin Ramanlal Gandhi and family of Asian Paints