Mukesh, Mittal lead Indian businessmen in Forbes' list

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and NRI steel baron Lakshmi Mittal lead the pack of 24 Indians in the Forbes' list of world's richest people.

As many as 29 Indians lost their billionaire status entirely as India's stock market tumbled 44 per cent in the past year and the Indian rupee depreciated 18 per cent against the dollar.

Ranked at 7th position, Mukesh with a total wealth of $19.5 billion is the richest Indian in the list closely followed by Mittal whose worth as calculated by the magazine amounts to $19.3 billion. Mittal is at the 8th spot.

But both were among the biggest losers because of the economic downturn, Forbes said.

India no longer has maximum number of billionaires in Asia, ceding that title to China, which now has 28 richest people.

Mukesh's brother and industrialist Anil Ambani occupies third position among Indian billionaires with a total wealth of $10.1 billion.

Last year's biggest billionaire gainer Ambani is this year's biggest loser, the magazine said, adding that his fortune is down $32 billion, as shares in his Reliance Communications fell by two-thirds.