Flipkart co-founders Bansals new billionaires: Forbes India

Mumbai, Sep 23: India's leading e-retailer Flipkart's co- founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal are the latest billionaires in the country, with $1.3 billion (Rs.8,582- crore) net worth each, according to leading business magazine Forbes India' rich list released on Wednesday. "Indian e-commerce has added its first billionaires with Flipkart's founders (Bansals) making debut on our rich list at number 86, with $1.3 billion net worth each," the magazine said in a statement here. Though Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani tops the rich list for the ninth consecutive year, his net worth, however, declined $4.7 billion to $18.9 billion (Rs.127,700 crore) from 2014 owing to lower oil prices that hit his oil and petrochemicals giant. Sun Pharmaceutical's Dilip Shanghvi also retained the second spot, with $18 billion net worth, acquisition of drug major Ranbaxy Industries for $4 billion by his company notwithstanding. IT czar and Wipro chairman Azim Premji also retained the third spot in the list, with a net worth of $15.9 billion though $500 million less than in 2014. "The generous billionaire has pledged 18 percent of his stake in Wipro to his charitable trust, in addition to a 21 percent stake already given," the statement noted. "The combined wealth of India's 100 richest remains largely unchanged at $345 billion, as compared to $346 billion in 2014," it added.