Indian billionaires buck market trends, post strong gains in first half of 2025

Despite a turbulent macroeconomic environment marked by global uncertainties, Indian billionaires have delivered robust wealth gains in the first six months of 2025, showcasing resilience in key sectors such as defence, telecommunications, steel, aviation, and consumer retail. While overall market performance remained cautious, select industry leaders leveraged strategic positioning to register substantial increases in net worth.

Insights from the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, first reported by Moneycontrol, revealed that Satyanarayan Nuwal, co-founder and chairman of Solar Industries India, topped the list. Data of wealth trends among India’s richest individuals in H1 2025 showed Nuwal’s wealth surged by more than 78 per cent to reach $7.90 billion, driven by an 81 per cent rally in the company’s share price so far this year. Based in Nagpur, Solar Industries has emerged as a key player in defence manufacturing, producing explosives, detonators, drones, and ammunition.

A robust order book worth approximately Rs 17,000 crore — of which Rs 15,000 crore is from defence contracts — has buoyed investor sentiment. The company expects its FY26 revenue to rise by 33 per cent to Rs 10,000 crore, with Rs 3,000 crore projected from defence alone. Meanwhile, its core explosives business is forecast to grow between 15 and 20 per cent.

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Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, witnessed a 27 per cent jump in net worth, taking his total to $30.40 billion (about Rs 26 lakh crore). Bharti Airtel shares mirrored this performance with a similar gain, driven by subscriber growth following recent tariff hikes that are expected to boost future revenues.

Lakshmi Mittal, executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, also enjoyed a 26 per cent increase in wealth, as the steelmaker’s shares climbed 20 per cent during the period. Despite concerns over higher tariffs in Europe, ArcelorMittal benefited from steady demand and improved margins.

Notable climbers

Several other business leaders also recorded significant growth in personal wealth:

Rahul Bhatia (InterGlobe Aviation/IndiGo): up 25 per cent to $10.8 billion

Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries): up 22 per cent

Radhakishan Damani (Avenue Supermarts): up 21 per cent

Benu Bangur (Shree Cement) and Uday Kotak (Kotak Mahindra Bank): each rose over 20 per cent

Vikram Lal (Eicher Motors) and Nusli Wadia (Britannia Industries): both gained 16 per cent

Rakesh Gangwal (InterGlobe Aviation): up 14.5 per cent

Kumar Mangalam Birla (Aditya Birla Group): up 11.4 per cent

Murli Divi (Divi’s Laboratories): up 10 per cent

Gautam Adani (Adani Group): up 9 per cent

These gains reflect strong sectoral tailwinds, from aviation recovery and retail demand to strategic expansion in financial services and manufacturing.

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Losses for a prominent few

Not all fared well, however. Ravi Jaipuria, chairman of RJ Corp, recorded the sharpest decline, with a 24.6 per cent fall in net worth. This was largely driven by a 28.5 per cent drop in the share price of Varun Beverages, the PepsiCo franchisee in India. Other notable declines include:

· Dilip Shanghvi (Sun Pharma): down over 10 per cent

· Azim Premji (Wipro) and Shapoor Mistry (Tata Sons): each down nearly 8 per cent

· Shiv Nadar (HCL): down over 6 per cent

Mixed market mood in H1 2025

The broader equity markets displayed a mixed picture during the first half of 2025. The Sensex and Nifty rose by 7.2 per cent and 8.1 per cent respectively. In contrast, the BSE MidCap index managed a modest gain of 0.5 per cent, while the BSE SmallCap index slipped by 1.2 per cent.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers, pulling out over $8.92 billion from Indian equities. Retail investors added Rs 5,000 crore, and mutual funds were active buyers, infusing more than Rs 2.38 lakh crore. Despite this, mutual fund cash holdings stayed elevated at Rs 1.65 lakh crore in May, slightly down from Rs 1.73 lakh crore in April — indicating persistent caution.

The first half of 2025 has reaffirmed the ability of Indian business leaders to navigate economic turbulence and extract value from sector-specific opportunities. From defence production and telecom expansion to steel manufacturing and retail growth, billionaire fortunes have largely tracked strategic investments and robust demand cycles.