Who are India’s finance billionaires? Bloomberg’s first rich list reveals top 10

India’s financial sector is no longer just creating banks, brokerages and fintech companies. It is also creating billionaires.

In its first India Finance Rich List, Bloomberg has identified 15 individuals and families who have amassed more than $65 billion in wealth from financial services. The list includes veterans of banking and lending as well as newer fortunes built on retail investing, digital finance and fintech.

According to Bloomberg, seven of the 15 fortunes have been driven by the post-pandemic surge in retail credit and equity investing, while the remaining eight belong to veterans of India’s lending and capital markets. The net-worth figures are as of August 14 and are based on calculations by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Here are the top 10 names on Bloomberg’s India finance rich list and how they built their fortunes.

1. UDAY KOTAK — $16.4 BILLION

Uday Kotak tops the list with a net worth of $16.4 billion.

Kotak started his financial services journey in 1985 after raising an $80,000 loan from friends and family to set up a bill-discounting and lending company. The business eventually became Kotak Mahindra Bank after receiving an RBI banking licence in 2003.

The group subsequently built a strong presence in capital markets through investment banking and mutual funds.

2. GEORGE ALEXANDER MUTHOOT AND FAMILY — $9.9 BILLION

The Muthoot family has its roots in a business that dates back to 1887, when Muthoot Ninan Mathai started a provision store in Kerala.

The family later began lending to estate workers and farmers and entered the gold-loan business in 1939. The business was eventually split among the founder’s three sons, with Mathai George Muthoot setting up Muthoot Finance.

Today, Muthoot Finance is India’s largest gold-loan company, with its gold-loan business having quadrupled since 2020. The family has also diversified into mortgages, IT, energy, real estate, education, healthcare and hospitality.

3. NITHIN AND NIKHIL KAMATH — $9.9 BILLION

The Kamath brothers built their fortune through Zerodha, which transformed India’s retail broking market.

The brothers began trading in their teenage years in the late 1990s and later worked as sub-brokers before founding Zerodha in 2010.

Their low-cost brokerage model and technology-driven platform helped attract millions of retail investors. Zerodha’s client base has grown from 30,000 in 2013 to more than 17.5 million, according to Bloomberg. Nithin continues to lead Zerodha, while Nikhil has expanded into venture capital, asset management and other businesses.

4. AJAY PIRAMAL — $4.4 BILLION

Ajay Piramal inherited his family’s textile business but later moved into glass manufacturing and pharmaceuticals.

A major turning point came in 2010 when the family sold its domestic drug manufacturing business to Abbott Laboratories for $3.72 billion. The proceeds helped Piramal enter financial services and real estate.

Piramal Finance initially focused on commercial lending to property developers. After the 2018-19 shadow banking crisis, the business shifted strategy and acquired Dewan Housing Finance Corporation, helping it build a larger retail lending franchise. Today, Piramal Finance has a loan book of more than $11 billion.

5. MOTILAL OSWAL AND RAAMDEO AGRAWAL — $3.9 BILLION

Motilal Oswal and Raamdeo Agrawal started out as sub-brokers at the Bombay Stock Exchange after moving to Mumbai to pursue chartered accountancy.

The creation of the National Stock Exchange in the 1990s opened up the brokerage market and helped give the duo their big break.

Over the next three decades, their business rode India’s equity-market expansion, as retail participation increased and thousands of companies listed on the markets. Motilal Oswal Financial Services subsequently expanded into asset management, alternative investments, lending and private wealth.

The company now manages nearly $70 billion in assets under advice, according to Bloomberg.

6. SANJAY AND ALPANA DANGI — $3.9 BILLION

Sanjay Dangi built his career in India’s capital markets, particularly by investing in small and mid-sized companies.

In 2019, the Dangi family acquired listed non-banking financial company Authum Investment and Infrastructure. The company operates across public and private markets and lending.

Its acquisition of two non-bank lenders from Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group in 2022-23 significantly expanded its lending business, giving the family access to millions of dollars in retail loans and customers.

Authum now manages $1.4 billion in public and private investment assets and has a loan portfolio of around $430 million.

7. SACHIN BANSAL — $3 BILLION

Sachin Bansal first made his fortune as the co-founder of Flipkart, which he started with Binny Bansal.

The two had met at IIT Delhi and later worked at Amazon. Their online bookstore, started with an initial investment of just $4,800, grew into India’s largest online retailer. Walmart acquired a controlling stake in Flipkart for $16 billion in 2018.

Bansal then turned to financial services, founding Navi. What began as a digital lending platform has expanded into payments, lending, general insurance and asset management. Navi had more than $1.3 billion in loan assets and about $1 billion in mutual-fund assets in 2025-26, Bloomberg said.

8. SANJAY AGARWAL — $1.9 BILLION

Sanjay Agarwal began by lending to small transport operators, entrepreneurs and borrowers in Rajasthan’s rural and semi-urban markets.

The business expanded into vehicle financing and became one of India’s largest non-bank vehicle financiers.

In 2015, it received an RBI licence to operate as a small finance bank, eventually becoming AU Small Finance Bank. A decade later, the RBI gave the bank in-principle approval to convert into a universal bank.

AU has grown into India’s largest small finance bank, with a market value of $8.5 billion and more than 12 million customers, according to Bloomberg.

9. RAJESH SHARMA — $1.8 BILLION

Rajesh Sharma, a chartered accountant, began his career as an investment banker at HBL Stock Broking.

In 1994, he started his own debt investment banking practice. He later expanded into stock broking, lending and investment advisory through Money Matters Financial Services, which was subsequently renamed Capri Global Capital.

Sharma gradually moved away from capital markets and focused on retail lending. Capri Global has since grown into a $4.2 billion lending business with more than a million customers, with gold loans accounting for nearly half its lending book.

10. ANAND RATHI AND FAMILY — $1.7 BILLION

Anand Rathi, a chartered accountant, worked at DCM and the Aditya Birla Group before co-founding the Anand Rathi Group with Pradeep Gupta in 1994.

The business began as an investment banking and institutional research firm before expanding into lending and wealth management.

Anand Rathi Wealth is now among India’s largest wealth managers, managing more than $11 billion in assets for around 14,000 clients. Its broking arm has about 90,000 customers, with $12 billion in assets under custody and nearly $10 billion under management.

HOW INDIA’S FINANCE BOOM CREATED WEALTH

The list highlights how India’s financial-services landscape has changed over the past few decades. The fortunes span traditional banking, gold loans and lending, stock broking, wealth management, digital payments and fintech.

Bloomberg’s list also comes with a caveat. The financial boom has coincided with losses for retail investors in speculative trades and a rise in household debt, partly driven by digital lending apps. The report also notes that much of the recent investment-market windfall has benefited existing shareholders rather than necessarily translating into fresh capital expenditure.

The 15 people and families featured by Bloomberg together have built more than $65 billion in wealth from financial services, showing how India’s expanding credit, investment and digital-finance ecosystem has created an entirely new class of financial billionaires.

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