HCL's Roshni Nadar is 5th richest woman globally with ₹3.5 trn: Hurun 2025

A total of 22 Indian women feature on this year's Hurun Global Rich List with a combined wealth of Rs 9 trillion

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Roshni Nadar, chairperson of HCL Technologies, has become the fifth richest woman in the world and the first Indian woman to feature in the global top 10 wealthiest women, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2025. Her net worth stands at Rs 3.5 trillion after her father, Shiv Nadar, transferred a 47% stake in HCL to her.

 

“She is the only woman from India in the top ten richest globally,” said the Hurun Research Institute. At 43, she is also the youngest among India’s top 10 wealthiest individuals overall.

 

22 Indian women billionaires on the list

 

A total of 22 Indian women feature on this year’s list with a combined wealth of Rs 9 trillion. The average wealth among them is over Rs 40,000 crore.

 

Globally, 561 women made the cut, of which 224 are self-made. The top three countries by number of women billionaires are China, the US and India.

 

World’s richest women – Top 5

 

Alice Walton (Walmart, US): $102 billion  

Francoise Bettencourt Meyers (L'Oréal, France): $67 billion  

Julia Koch (Koch Industries, US): $60 billion  

Jacqueline Mars (Mars, US): $53 billion  

Roshni Nadar (HCL, India): $40 billion  

 

Indian women lead inherited wealth pool

 

The rise of Indian women billionaires has been largely driven by succession transfers. Roshni Nadar’s stake transfer from her father placed her ahead of other Indian businesswomen such as Smita Crishna-Godrej and Savitri Jindal in terms of net worth.

 

Roshni Nadar (HCL Technologies) – Rs 3.5 trillion

Savitri Jindal (OP Jindal Group) – Rs 1.2 trillion

Smita Crishna-Godrej (Godrej Group) – Rs 37,000 crore

Leena Tewari (USV Pharma) – Rs 25,000 crore

Vinod Rai Gupta (Havells India) – Rs 21,000 crore

Rekha Jhunjhunwala (Investments, RJ legacy) – Rs 20,000 crore

Radha Vembu (Zoho) – Rs 19,000 crore

Falguni Nayar (Nykaa) – Rs 13,000 crore

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Biocon) – Rs 12,000 crore

 

India vs global share of women billionaires

 

India: 7% of its billionaires are women  

China: 22%  

USA: 15%  

 

In city terms, Mumbai leads with the highest number of Indian women billionaires, followed by New Delhi and Bengaluru.