Surging wealth of India’s billionaires raises concerns about rising inequality, cronyism

The wealth of billionaires in India has risen to US$905 billion, according to a report by UBS, outpacing the country’s economic growth

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A person holding Indian rupees of different denominations. The wealth of Indian billionaires surged to US$905 billion in 2024, a UBS report shows. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:00am, 13 Dec 2024

A new report about the surge in wealth of India’s billionaires has fuelled debates about worsening inequality and crony capitalism in the country against the backdrop of slower economic growth.

According to the report by Swiss banking giant UBS released earlier this month, the wealth of India’s billionaires rose by 42 per cent in 2024 to US$905 billion. The number of billionaires in the country rose by 56 per cent to 185 this year, the report shows.

The report comes as several Indian tycoons are facing greater scrutiny by authorities. Among them is billionaire Gautam Adani, who is facing bribery charges in the US. The case has prompted an outcry from Indian opposition politicians over the close ties between the Adani Group and the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Analysts also note that the wealth surge of Indian billionaires has outpaced India’s economic growth, which slowed to a two-year low of 5.4 per cent in the April-June quarter.

Lawrence Loh, a professor at the National University of Singapore Business School, attributed the wealth increase partly to the rally in stock markets. The report has turned public attention in India to rising income inequality and could pile pressure on New Delhi to address the issue, Loh said.

“Even though overall [economic] growth can slow down, some can still get very rich. If you look at the situation in India in terms of income inequality, the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer,” he added.