 "Shiv Nadar")
Shiv Nadar, founder of HCL Technologies, in FY25 surpassed Wipro’s Azim Premji to emerge as the country’s most cash-rich promoter on the basis of dividend from listed companies.
The Nadar family earned ₹9,906 crore from HCL Technologies in FY25, up from ₹8,585 crore a year earlier. HCL Technologies, in which the Nadar family owns 60.82 per cent, paid dividend worth ₹16,290 crore in FY25.
HCL, the family’s other listed company, did not declare equity dividend in either FY24 or FY25.
By comparison, the dividend income of the Azim Premji family from Wipro was down 50 per cent to ₹4,570 crore in FY25 from ₹9,128 crore in FY24. This was because there was no share buyback by Wipro in FY25, unlike in FY24, when it had bought back shares worth ₹12,000 crore. Wipro is the only listed company in the group.
The Azim Premji family owns around 72.7 per cent in Wipro through unlisted holding companies and in individual capacities.
The analysis is based on individual promoters’ and their families’ dividend income, including proceeds from share buybacks from listed companies. Only the dividend income of unlisted holding and investment companies and individual promoter shareholders has been considered. The analysis excludes the dividend income of listed holding and operating companies in other group companies.
The analysis also excludes government-owned entities; Tata group firms; those owned by institutions such as Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank; and listed subsidiaries and associates and global multinationals.
Bharti Airtel’s Sunil Bharti Mittal was the biggest gainer among the top 10, jumping five notches in FY25.
In the process, the promoters of Asian Paints were removed from the list because the paint makers cut the dividend payout in FY25.
Nadar is followed by Vedanta’s Anil Agarwal, who earned nearly ₹9,589 crore from his listed group companies in FY25, up 41.1 per cent from ₹6,798 crore a year earlier.
Vedanta, the mining and metal major, declared dividend worth ₹17,009 crore. The promoters own 56.38 per cent in the company through various unlisted holding companies.
Sterlite Technologies, the group’s other listed company, did not declare any dividend for FY24 or FY25.
Agarwal is followed by Premji, Reliance Industries’ Mukesh Ambani (₹3,655 crore), and Aster DM Healthcare’s M A Moopen (₹2,574 crore). Agarwal was ranked three in the table in FY24 while Ambani and the Moopen family maintained their positions. (See the adjoining chart.)
Reliance Industries paid dividend worth ₹7,443 crore in FY25, up from ₹6,766 crore a year earlier. The Ambani family owns 49.11 per cent in the company through unlisted holding companies. The family is also expected to earn equity dividend worth around ₹150 crore from Jio Financial Services for FY25. The group’s other listed ventures -- in media, broadcasting, and construction & infra -- are owned by Reliance Industries and their equity dividend doesn’t accrue to the promoter family directly.
For the Mittal family, ranked sixth from 11th in FY24, dividend income nearly doubled in FY25.
Mittal earned ₹2,357 crore in FY25, up 97 per cent from ₹1,198 crore in FY24.
Group flagship Bharti Airtel declared ₹9,280 crore in FY25, up 100 per cent from ₹4,620 crore in FY24.
The Mittal family owns around 25.4 per cent in Bharti Airtel. The group’s other two listed companies -- Indus Towers and Bharti Hexacom -- are owned and promoted by Bharti Airtel.
Mittal is followed by Infosys founders and promoter families – N R Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekeni, S D Shibulal, S Gopalakrishnan, and K Dinesh. They together netted equity dividend worth ₹2,327 crore in FY25, down 7.1 per cent from ₹2,504 crore a year before. Infosys declared equity dividend worth ₹17,854 crore in FY25, down 6.5 per cent from ₹1,784 crore in FY24. The promoters collectively own 13.05 per cent in the company. Infosys promoters were ranked 6th in the FY24 league table.
The Dilip Shanghvi family was the eighth-most cash-rich promoter in FY25, its ranking remaining the same as in FY24. The family earned ₹2,091 crore from Sun Pharmaceuticals in FY25, up 18.5 per cent from ₹1,765 crore in FY24.
The pharma major in FY25 declared equity dividend worth ₹3,839 crore, as against ₹3,239 crore in FY24. The Shanghvi family owned around 54.5 per cent in Sun Pharma currently.
The Bajaj family, Bajaj group promoters, was the ninth-most cash-rich in FY25, down two places from FY24.
The family earned around ₹1,645 crore through dividend from the group’s listed companies in FY25, down 13.9 per cent from ₹1,912 crore a year earlier. The decline was due to an absence of share buyback by Bajaj Auto in FY25 unlike in FY24. The Bajaj family directly owns 18.3 per cent in the auto major either through unlisted holding companies or by individuals. The family also earned ₹496 crore from Bajaj Holdings & Investments and around ₹76 crore from Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Electricals, Mukand, and Bajaj Finance.
Gautam Adani was ranked 10th, the same as in FY24. The family earned dividend income worth ₹1,460 crore from the group’s listed ventures in FY25, up 14.5 per cent in FY24. Adani Ports & SEZ contributed the most and the family earned ₹996 crore from it, followed by Ambuja Cements at ₹333 crore and Adani Enterprises bringing in another ₹111 crore.
Adani Total Gas and ACC added ₹10 crore and ₹9.4 crore, respectively, in FY25. Other group companies such as Adani Power, Adani Energy Solutions, and Adani Green Energy are yet to declare a dividend for FY25.
