popular indian billionaires

                                                BILLIONAIRES IN INDIA

Industrialist Mukesh Ambani topped the Forbes list of "Richest Indians 2013", while it also revealed some new entrants. Here are the top 10 richest persons in India. 

1: Mukesh Ambani

He is India's richest man for the sixth straight year as per the Forbes list. Ambani holds 40 percent Reliance Industries and is worth $21 billion.

He now plans to build the country's first 4G wireless network through Reliance in 700 cities.

Ambani received a letter by terrorist group Indian Mujahideen this year, threatening to attack his 27-storey house.

2: Lakshmi Mittal

This steel baron is the second richest Indian and is now worth $16.2 billion. Mittal had reported a $3.7 billion net loss last year but was able to raise $4 billion in January share sale.

He owns several properties in London, including mansions on Billionaires Row near Kensington Palace. He has been a UK resident since 2008.

3: Dilip Shangvi

Shanghvi is the founder and biggest stockholder of Sun Pharmaceuticals, India's most valuable drug company.

He started his career 30 years ago by selling the drug Lithosun for bipolar disorder. Since 1997, he has acquired 13 pharmaceutical makers through Sun.

Shanghvi is country's biggest dollar gainer this year, up by $4.7 billion. His net worth is $13.9 billion, according to the Forbes list.

Shanghvi is a fan of the Harry Potter films and saw the movie Avatar twice.

4: Azim Premji  

Wipro chairman Premji dropped one place in the list but managed to increase his fortune by $1.6 billion in the past year.

The tech tycoon is worth $13.8 billion today. He has time and again blamed the UPA led government for India's economic slide.

He is a close friend of Bill Gates.

5: Pallonji Mistry

Mistry, along with his sons, own 18 percent stake in Tata Sons, benefitted from its rising value. His fortune currently amounts to $12.5 billion.

He is a citizen of Ireland since 2003 after marrying Irishwoman Patsy Perin Dubash. He built the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai, which was attacked by terrorists in 2008.

6: Hinduja Brothers

Multinational conglomerate Hinduja Group is controlled by four brothers: Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok. Their business in 37 countries is worth $9 billion today.

7: Shiv Nadar

Nadar is the founder of HCL Technolodies, India's fourth largest software exporter. His 62 percent stake in the company benefitted him to make a fortune of $8.6 billion.

Despite being committed to spend more than 10 percent of his wealth for philanthropic causes, Nadar moved into the top 10 list for the first time since 2004.

8: Adi Godrej 

The 116-year-old Godrej Group works under the supervision of Adi Godrej. He is worth $8.3 billion, as per the Forbes list.

9: Kumar Birla

Kumar Birla is the chairman of Aditya Birla Group which owns India's second largest aluminium manufacturer Hindalco Industries and Grasim Industries and iron ore miner Essel. He is worth $7.6 billion.

In October, Birla was named in a corruption scandal by the CBI.

10. Sunil Mittal

Owner of Bharti Airtel, which has 275 million customers worldwide, Sunil Mittal has made a fortune of $6.6 billion.

His shares at Bharti Airtel perked up when it reported higher revenues per user in last quarter, according to Forbes.