In Mumbai, recognized as India’s financial nucleus, the epithet ‘city of billionaires’ has once again been bestowed upon it, eclipsing China’s capital Beijing as Asia’s preeminent abode of affluence.
Economic pundits, buoyed by this revelation, posit it as a felicitous outcome, attributing it to India’s economic modus operandi. Mumbai’s ascendancy in the pantheon of Asian billionaire hubs is duly noted, now outstripping Beijing in this metric.
As per the 2024 Hurun report, Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra, stands tall as the epicenter of billionaire opulence in Asia, vaulting to third place globally.
Atop the leaderboard sits New York in the United States, boasting 119 plutocrats, trailed closely by London in the United Kingdom with 97, while Mumbai claims the bronze with 92. Beijing, erstwhile incumbent, languishes behind at 91. Mumbai’s resurgence atop Asia’s billionaire roster after a seven-year hiatus is indeed noteworthy.
The Hurun 2024 report divulges that Mumbai has welcomed 26 new billionaires into its fold within a single year, catapulting the cumulative wealth of its affluent denizens to a staggering $445 billion, marking a 47% surge from the preceding year.
In stark juxtaposition, Beijing’s billionaire cohort flounders at $265 billion, a precipitous 28% decline. Economist Prakash Pathak surmises that the windfall profits reaped by real estate magnates have bolstered Mumbai’s billionaire tally, cautioning, however, that such exponential growth may strain the city’s infrastructure, potentially inviting calamitous repercussions.
Conversely, economist Ravindra Vaidya lauds Mumbai’s ascent in the billionaire echelons as a natural progression, lauding the efficacy of economic policies implemented by both the central and Maharashtra state governments. Vaidya attributes this phenomenon to a conducive environment for entrepreneurship fostered by initiatives such as ‘Make in India’, streamlined export policies, and legislative reforms.
Furthermore, Vaidya commends the government’s proclivity towards industry-friendly policies, citing a concerted effort towards economic liberalization as a driving force behind Mumbai’s burgeoning billionaire populace.
The roll call of billionaires features luminaries such as Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Shiv Nadar of HCL, Cyrus Poonawalla of Serum Institute, Dilip Shanghvi, Kumar Mangalam Birla, and Radhakishan Damani, underscoring Mumbai’s status as a bastion of opulence and enterprise.
