Chennai, Sep 21 (IANS): Regardless of Covid pandemic, inflation or the Ukraine War, India's richest grew by 96 persons to 1,103 spread over 122 cities and have Rs 1,000 crore or more as per the AIIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022.

The youngest on the list is Kaivalya Vohra aged 19, who founded Zepto which shows the impact of the startup revolution.

The latest rich list includes several promoters of startups, including those floated by women.

"Cumulative wealth has increased by 9.4 per cent, while average wealth has decreased by 1 per cent. 602 individuals saw their wealth increase or stay the same, of which 149 are new faces, whilst 415 saw their wealth drop and there were 50 dropouts," as per a statement issued by IIFL Wealth and Hurun India.

According to the report, India has 221 billionaires, down 16 compared to last year.

While Chemicals and Financial Services added the greatest number of new entrants to the list, Pharma is still at number one and has contributed 126 entrants to the list.

"Despite the slump in economy owing to geo-political challenges, volatility in global financial markets, and sharp spike in oil prices, India has successfully made an impression on the world's economy/wealth map," said Yatin Shah, Co-Founder & Joint CEO, IIFL Wealth.

He said pharmaceuticals, chemical & petrochemicals, IT, and financial services amongst others are some of the key sectors substantially contributing to wealth creation.

"There are 65 founders of 37 unicorns along with 14 professional managers who have emerged as the cornerstone of wealth creation this time in the list," Shah said.

"Gurugram debuted in the top 10 cities producing most number of entrants and we have a record addition of 149 new faces to the list from 32 industries and 36 cities," said Anirudha Taparia, Joint CEO, IIFL Wealth.

"The trends in IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022 prove that India has taken booster shots against the global crisis. Be it Ukraine War or inflationary pressures, the Indian growth story continues against all odds as 149 individuals entered the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich list of 1,103 who cumulatively have a wealth of INR 100 lakh crore. India also gave a new number two, Gautam Adani, to the Hurun Global Rich List," commented Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India.

As per the list, Adani group promoter Gautam Adani has surged ahead to the top spot beating Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries with wealth more than doubling (116 per cent) in the last year.

Adani is ahead of the second-ranking Ambani by more than Rs 3,00,000 crore. Vaccine maker Cyrus S. Poonawalla and family also moved up three ranks after their wealth increased by 25 per cent year-on-year.

Three families, Shiv Nadar and family, S.P. Hinduja and family and L.N. Mittal and family, have reported a decline in wealth, but still find a place in the top ten.

Four individuals still make the India Top 10 after ten years, led by Mukesh Ambani and followed by L,N, Mittal, Dilip Shanghvi and Shiv Nadar.

Other highlights:

* For the first time, 100 startup founders, with a cumulative wealth of Rs 506,000 crore and average age of 40, feature in the latest rich list;

* 12 individuals worth Rs 1 lakh crore or more, down from 13 in last year's rich list;

* 221 dollar billionaires, down 16 as compared to last year and four times since Hurun India started 10 years ago;

* A record 735 entrepreneurs are self made in the list, up from 659 last year;

* The two promoters of New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) Prannoy Roy and wife Radhika Roy entered the list with a combined wealth of Rs 2,000 crore after Adani group acquired stake and announced an open offer for the channel company;

* Alakh Pandey, popularly known as 'Physics Wallah' and his Co-Founder Prateek Boob debuted the list with a wealth of Rs 4,000 crore on the back of their startup Physics Wallah turning Unicorn;

* Neha Narkhede, 37, Co-Founder of Confluent, a streaming data technology company, is the youngest self-made woman entrepreneur in the 2022 list;

* The listing of beauty and wellness E-Commerce platform Nykaa, 59-year-old Falguni Nayar overtook Biotech Queen Kiran Mazumdar Shaw as the richest self-made Indian woman in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List.