Top 10 Wealthiest Indian Entrepreneurs in 2012

• India’s rich are back after conceding ground last year. The combined wealth of the 100 richest people in India has increased by about $9 billion to $250.6 billion in 2012. This can be accounted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s reform push and a renewed Sensex. This year, we have 61 billionaires where we had 57 in 2011. Also the entry barrier has gone a little higher with at least $460 million needed to make the coveted list, from $370 million a year earlier. Most of the wealth is still in the hands of the elders in our nation which has 65 percent of population under the age of 30. Behind the numbers, the India Rich List is an intriguing story of admirable successes, glorious comebacks and some ignominious exits. Let us look at the top 10 of them.

• Kumar Birla$7.8 billion Source: CommoditiesAge: 45. Married, 3 childrenResidence: Mumbai

• His Aditya Birla Group is generating revenue of $40 billion and is aiming to reach $65 billion in by 2015.

Kumar Mangalam Birla is an Indian industrialist and the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest conglomerate corporations in India. The groups is India's third largest business house. He is also the Chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science

In April, bought a 50 percent stake in Pantaloon Retail for $150 million. In July it acquired Canadian pulp mill Terrace Bay for $110 million and will be investing $250 million more. Group is also negotiating to buy Jaiprakash Gaur’s cement business that is at 70th position on this list. In his first venture into media, he bought 27.5 percent in Living Media, which publishes magazines India Today and Business Today.

• Hinduja Brothers$8 billionSource: DiversifiedResidence: London/Geneva/Mumbai

• Their Flagship brand Ashok Leyland has a 25 percent share of the commercial vehicles market in India and its Indian-listed IndusInd Bank now has a market cap of $3 billion. It has interests in defence, energy, petroleum, media and technology.

• Shashi & Ravi Ruia$8.1 billion Source: DiversifiedAge: 68. Married, 2 childrenAge: 63. Married, 2 childrenResidence: Mumbai/London

• Ravikant Nand Kishore Ruia is the Vice-Chairman of Essar Group (founded in 1969 by Ruia and his brother Shashi Ruia).

• In 2012, Forbes named Brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia as the world's first richest Indians with a net worth of US$7 billion.

• Ravi Ruia is a mechanical engineer by profession, with a degree from College of Engineering, Guindy - Anna University in Chennai, India, and has played an important role in steering the Essar Group to its pre-eminent position. The Essar Group is a multinational conglomerate and a leading player in the sectors of steel, oil & gas, power, communications, shipping, ports & logistics, projects and minerals. With operations in more than 20 countries across five continents, the group employs 75,000 people, with revenues of US$17 billion. Notably he is the 12th richest person living in the united kingdom, as in the Sunday times rich list 2011.

• In December 2011, Ruia was charged by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation over alleged corruption involving the sale of India's 2G spectrum. He was charged alongside two other exectives from the Essar Group.

• Savitri Jindal$8.2 billionSource: Steel, powerAge: 62. Widow, 9 childrenResidence: Hisar/Delhi

• Savitri Jindal is an Indian steel baroness, the wealthiest woman in India and the world's 80th richest person. She is the non-executive chairperson of O.P. Jindal Group, and member of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, (Legislative Assembly). She also served as aMinister of Power in the Government of Haryana until 2010. She became the chairperson after her husband, O. P. Jindal, died in a helicopter crash in 2005.

• As of March 2012, Savitri Jindal and her family were listed by Forbes as the world's 80th "richest person", with a net worth of US$10.9 billion. They ranked as the fourth richest in India. Among the billionaire mothers listed in 2010, Jindal had the most children (nine)

• Adi Godrej$9 billionSource: Consumer goods, real estateAge: 70. Married, 3 childrenResidence: Mumbai

Adi Godrej ; born 3 April 1942) is an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. As of 2012, he is one of the richest Indians with net worth of US$9 billion. Godrej received his undergraduate degree from MIT and his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, 

Godrej Group has revenue of $3.8 billion. It is a consumer good conglomerate that makes everything from locks to refrigerators. Chocolate maker Hershey’s recently bought out Godrej’s 43 percent stake in their Indian joint venture. In April, son Pirojsha, a Columbia University grad, was appointed chief executive of fast-expanding property arm Godrej Properties. Daughter Nisaba is considered favorite to head listed Godrej Consumer Products.

• Fast factsHis biography, published by Penguin, is being released in December. He’s currently president of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

• Dilip Shanghvi$9.2 billionSource: PharmaceuticalsAge: 57. Married, 2 childrenResidence: Mumbai

• Dilip Shanghvi  (born 1955 in Mumbai, India) is the founder and managing director of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited. Sun Pharma was founded in 1982 and it is currently the fifth-largest drugmaker in India. Shanghvi is estimated to be worth $9.2 billion as of 2012 by Forbes, and was ranked the 5th richest person in India. Shanghvi holds bachelor of Arts/Science degree from the University of Calcutta.

• Shanghvi enters top 5 ranks for the first time as shares of his 1982 founded Sun Pharmaceutical Industries gained nearly 50 percent in past year, hitting a record high in October. It is the country’s most valuable drug maker.

• Pallonji Mistry$9.8 billionSource: DiversifiedAge: 83. Married, 4 childrenResidence: Mumbai

• Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (born 1929) is an Irish construction tycoon and chairman of Shapoorji Pallonji Group. According to Forbes, his wealth is estimated to be US$9.7 billion as of 2012 making him the wealthiest person of Parsi descent. With his 18.4% stake in Tata Sons, he is the single largest shareholder in India's largest private conglomerate Tata Group. He is also the Chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group through which he owns Shapoorji Pallonji Construction Limited, Forbes Textiles and Eureka Forbes Limited. He is also the former Chairman of Associated Cement Companies. Pallonji gave up his Indian citizenship in 2003 in order to obtain Irish citizenship, because India does not yet allow dual citizenship. His son Cyrus has been named as the deputy chairman of Tata Sons and succeeded Ratan Tata on 28th December 2012. A short biography of Mistry was written in a 2008 book by Manoj Namburu titled The Moguls of Real Estate.

• Azim Premji$12.2 billion Source: Information technologyAge: 67. Married, 2 childrenResidence: Bangalore

• Er.Azim Hashim Premji (born 24 July 1945) is an Indian business tycoon and philanthropist who is the chairman of Wipro Limited, guiding the company through four decades of diversification and growth to emerge as one of the Indian leaders in the software industry. According to Forbes, he is currently the third wealthiest Indian, and the 41st richest in the world, with a personal wealth of $12.2 billion in 2012.

• In 2000, he was voted among the 20 most powerful men in the world by Asia week. He has twice been listed among the 100 most influential people by TIME Magazine, once in 2004 and more recently in 2011. Premji owns 79 percent of Wipro and also owns a private equity fund, Premji Invest, which manages his $1 billion personal portfolio.

• Lakshmi Mittal$16 billion Source: SteelAge: 62. Married, 2 childrenResidence: London

• Lakshmi Niwas Mittal   pronunciation (born 15 June 1950) is an England-based Indian steel magnate. He is the chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaking company. Mittal owns 41 percent of ArcelorMittal and holds a 34 percent stake in the Queens Park Rangers F.C. football team.

• Mittal is the richest man of Asian descent. Despite being the wealthiest man in Britain, he does not hold British citizenship.He was ranked the sixth richest person in the worldby Forbes in 2011, but dropped to 21st place in 2012, due to having lost $10.4 billion the previous year. In spite of the drop, Forbes estimates that he still had a personal wealth ofUS$16 billion in October 2012. He is also the 47th "most powerful person" of the 70 individuals named in Forbes' "Most Powerful People" list for 2012. His daughter Vanisha Mittal's wedding was the second most expensive in recorded history.

• Mittal has been a member of the board of directors of Goldman Sachs since 2008, and is also member of the board of directors of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company. He sits on the World Steel Association's executive committee, and is a member of the Indian Prime Minister’s Global Advisory Council, the Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan, the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, and the Presidential International Advisory Board of Mozambique. He also sits on the advisory board of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in the United States and is a member of the board of trustees of the Cleveland Clinic.

• In 2006 The Sunday Times named him "Business Person of 2006", the Financial Timesnamed him "Person of the Year", and Time magazine named him "International Newsmaker of the Year 2006". In 2007, Time magazine included him in their "100 most influential persons in the world"

• Mukesh Ambani$21 billionSource: Oil & gasAge: 55. Married, 3 childrenResidence: Mumbai

• Er.Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (born on 19 April 1957) is an Indian business magnate who is the chairman and CEO of the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the foremost company of the Indian energy and materials conglomerate Reliance Group. The company was ranked #99th in Fortune Global 500 and is India's most valuable company by market value and second-largest Indian company by turnover. Ambani remains the largest individual shareholder, with 44.7 percent stake in RIL.

• In 2010, he was named among the most powerful people in the world by Forbes in its list of "68 people who matter most“ As of 2013, he is India's richest man, second richest man in Asia Ambani is listed as the 22nd richest person in the world with a personal wealth of $21.5 billion. He has retained his position as the world's richest Indian for the sixth year in a row. He is a member of the board of directors of Bank of America Corporation and the international advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also the chairman of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, one of the premier b-schools in the country.

• In 2012, Forbes named him the richest sports owner  in the world. He co-owns the Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians