India Inc comes of age

One way of looking at the phenomenal increase in wealth over the past year is to attribute it to the new highs being reached by the stock markets.

That’s certainly true, but it’s an explanantion that merely skims the
surface of the deep-rooted changes taking place in wealth generation in this country.

Dig a little deeper, and the increase in wealth becomes the result of the coming of age of India Inc, which has led to the rest of the world sitting up and taking notice of the globally competitive nature of many Indian companies. Seen from this point of view, the exponential rise in the number of billionaires becomes not so much the result of impersonal market forces but the well-earned rewards of massive efforts put in by corporate managers and owners to dramatically alter the profile of Corporate India during the last few years. This is especially true when we consider that we now have billionaires in practically every sector.

Dig even deeper, and you’ll find that the success of Corporate India has been built on a sea change in attitudes to wealth among the masses. Unlike in the days of the licence permit raj, opportunities to become wealthy have mushroomed, and inherited wealth is no longer the only way to become a billionaire. In fact, the majority of BS Billioanires are self-made.Moreover, while owning the business is still the best way to make it to the billionaire list, salaries for managers and executives, garnished with stock options, have also shot through the roof. This issue of BS Billionaire tells you the story of these people, many of whom earn over a crore a year. To get an idea of how salaries have zoomed, we also look at how many earned a crore a few years ago.

With the Indian economy becoming part and parcel of the global economy, it’s possible not just to aspire but also translate those desires into wealth.Together with that opportunity has come a transformation in attitudes to wealth and to spending. Increasingly, wealth is seen as something hard-working people deserve. What’s more, it is this change in attitudes that has feuelled a massive consumtion binge, raking in profits for businesses. Recognising their contribution, we bring you a wealth of data on India’s “mass affluent” category.

No feature on wealthy Indians, in these times of globalisation, would be complete without taking a look at the Indian diaspora. With people like Lakshmi Mittal featuring on the global rich list, Indian billionaires are no minnows.

Indeed, this review of India’s wealthiest shows that we can now boast of several dollar billionaires.

The billion dollar question, of course, is what on earth do our billionaires do with their money. We tried answering that question in our last issue and found, to our horror, that far from lolling in the lap of luxury, most billionaires are workaholics. In this issue, we have accordingly got stylists and fashion designers to do their wardrobes, and we let you be the judge of the makeover.

In the final analysis, as the roll call of BS Billionaires proves, if you have the aspiration today, you could have the billions tomorrow.•