Manna from heaven! Small biz families see up to 4-fold wealth growth in a year

NEW DELHI: Indian stock investors have reaped huge rewards from the massive rally in stocks seen from the lows of March 2020, but some of the business families have eclipsed them all, by growing their wealth three-four folds in a year.

The latest edition of the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List show many business families in India multiplied their wealth three to four times in the last one year, registering a growth that was never seen before. Their source of wealth is the stakes they hold in some of the listed companies.

“Jayant Shamji Chheda of Prince Pipes & Fittings was the biggest gainer this year. Robust volume growth in the plumbing and SWR categories helped the company continuously report better-than-expected quarterly results,” Hurun Research Institute said.

Since listing, the share price of Prince Pipes and Fittings has increased 293 per cent, or nearly four times, so has the promoter wealth. The family’s personal wealth stood at Rs 5,500 crore.

Similarly, Yadu Hari Dalmia saw the second biggest growth in wealth at 286 per cent to Rs 10,800 crore. His flagship company,

plans to invest Rs 9,000 crore, the largest capital expenditure announcement since its inception, to increase capacity by 60 per cent. The price rise coupled with recovery in volumes resulted in a 200 per cent increase in share price this year.

The pandemic disrupted most businesses in India, but for some, it was an opportunity of a lifetime. One such company was Trident which makes PPE kits used by medical professionals during the pandemic. Its owner, Rajinder Gupta, increased his wealth by 272 per cent to Rs 9,300.

Anand Suresh Deshpande of Persistent Systems saw his wealth grow 263 per cent to Rs 8,700 crore; Gautam Adani 263 per cent to Rs 5,05,900 crore, while Ashok Soota, founder of Happiest Minds, saw his fortune expand 254 per cent to Rs 13,100 crore.

While the above-mentioned names saw eye-popping growth in their wealth in percentage terms, they come nowhere close to the quantum of wealth that Adani, Ambani, Nadar and Birla families built during the year.

Gautam Adani added Rs 3,65,700 crore to his fortune during the year, Laxmi Mittal Rs 1,13,700 crore, Shiv Nadar Rs 94,900 crore and KM Birla Rs 88,200 crore. Hindujas’ wealth grew by Rs 76,300 crore, Poonawallas’ by Rs 69,400 crore, Damani’s by Rs 67,100 crore and Mukesh Ambani’s by Rs 59,600 crore.