The women have stood tall and fierce in business with their entrepreneurship skills. But now they have even carved a path among the billionaires. The Forbes’ real time billionaire rankings 2024 had some brilliant women leaders who have made a significant impact. They contribute to India’s economic growth with a commendable net worth.
India is among the top giants when it comes to wealth creation, and this year too there has been an extraordinary leap. In 2024, there are 271 billionaires, out of which 84 have been newcomers. The country ranks third among the most number of billionaires worldwide. Moreover, India is also having the fifth highest number of female billionaires of the world.
Wealth is not anymore a man’s business alone. Women have taken the center stage honing their talent in the business world with their successful startup initiatives. In a year of triumphs and glory, let’s not forget the achievements of the businesswomen. Here’s a Lookback featuring the billionaire women of 2024:
Savitri Jindal
The 74 year- old businesswoman and politician is the chairman emeritus of the O.P Jindal group founded by her husband. Savitri Jindal is the richest woman in India and the 50th richest person in the world (as of 3rd March 2024). The net worth of the group is $43.7 billion. The family was ranked third in the Forbes’ India 100 richest tycoons list. Also, to mention Savitri Jindal is the seventh richest mother in the world.
Jindal is also serving as an independent MLA in the Haryana Legislative Assembly. Along with all this, she is carrying her husband’s legacy forward by contributing to all the public work started by him.
Rekha Jhunjhunwala
For those who don’t know Rekha Jhunjhunwala is the wife of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who was known as the Warren Buffet of India. The 61 year-old has a net worth of 860 crores USD (2024). She is the owner of Rare enterprises, plus has inherited a valuable stock portfolio from her husband.
Rekha has backed Va Tech Wabag Ltd, which is a leading global water technology company. The company is ranked third in the World’s Top 50 water operators. She owns 8.04 percent stake in the company.
Vinod Rai Gupta
With a net worth of INR 55,123 crores driven by family business, Vinod Rai Gupta ranked third richest woman in India. Her wealth comes from her holdings in Havells, an electrical trading business based in Noida. It was founded by her husband, Qismat Rai Gupta. In April, the market cap of Havells was INR 98327 crore.
Renuka Jagtiani
Renuka Jagtiani is the CEO of the Landmark group, which is a retailing giant based in the middle east. The business started as a single store in Bahrain by her late husband Micky Jagtiani, now has 2200 stores spread across 24 countries of Middle east, Africa, Southeast Asia and India.
She is the 56th richest person of India and is ranked 648th in the World billionaire’s list.
Anu Aga
Anu Aga is a billionaire businesswoman, Padma Shri awardee social worker, former MP of the Rajya Sabha where she served on several committees. She was the chairperson of Thermax, an energy and environment engineering business from 1996-1004. She had acquired the business from her husband and has now passed it on to her daughter. Anu is ranked 67th in the Forbes list of 100 richest tycoons with a net worth of $4.7 billion. Earlier in 2007, she was among the eight richest Indian women and 40 richest Indians. Currently, she is the chairperson of Teach for India.
Smita Crishna-Godrej
Owning one-fifth share, i.e. 20% stake in the business run by the Godrej fam. According to Forbes, her net worth stood at $2.8 billion. Smita is a successful stock trader of India. Along with her brother Jamshyd Godrej, Smita ranked 22nd on Forbes’ list of India’s 100 richest tycoons.
She also runs her own investment firm, Vasantha Crishna & Co. which has grown to be one of the largest investment firms of India. Smita was the first woman to be inducted to the Bombay Stock exchange Hall of fame. She has also been recognized as one of the most powerful women in the world by Forbes, been awarded the Padma Shri and the Businesswoman of the year.
Falguni Nayar
The founder and CEO of the beauty and lifestyle retail brand, Naykaa. Nayar is one of the two self-made billionaires of India, the other is Kiran Mazumdar- Shaw. Naykaa was earlier known as FSN E-commerce ventures. Falguni Nayar and her family ranked 89th among the 100 richest tycoons of India in 2024. Her net worth is $3.64 billion.
Nayar founded Naykaa in 2012 with $2 million at the age of 50. Nykaa had a worth of $2.3 billion in 2021. She made her debut in the Forbes’ India rich list in 2022 where she was ranked 44. Her husband, Sanjay Nayar is the CEO of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts India.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
The billionaire entrepreneur is the executive chairperson and founder of Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics limited. The biotechnology company is based in Bangalore, India. With a net worth of $3.6 billion, Shaw is 91st wealthiest in India (2024).
Apart from the business venture, Shaw is also associated with philanthropic activities like the Aarogya Raksha Yojana, establishment of the Mazumdar- Shaw foundation and many infrastructural as well as educational projects. In 2014, she was awarded with Othmer Gold medal for her contributions to the progress of science. And in 2019, Shaw stood as the 68th most powerful woman in the world.
Radha Vembu
The billionaire businesswoman, Radha Vembu owns a majority stake in Zoho corporation which is an Indian software development venture. She co-founded the business with her brother in 1996 as Adventnet. She is the product manager for email service Zoho mail and also the director of Corpus foundation.
Vembu has a degree in Industrial management from IIT Madras. Her net worth stands at INR 27,561 crore as per the latest rankings by Forbes, making Vembu the 9th richest woman in India.
Leena Tewari
Leena Tewari is the chairperson of USV Private Limited, based in Mumbai. It is a multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company founded by her grandfather Vithal Balkrishna Gandhi. Leena is a businesswoman and an author who featured in the Forbes’ list as the 10th richest woman of India with a net worth of INR 25,891 crore. Apart from her business, Leena is also involved in humanitarian works for which she was ranked 23rd in the Hurun India Philanthropy list, 2019. She supports the Dr. Sushila Gandhi Center for underprivileged women. Leena has written the book, Beyond Pipes and Dreams which is a biography on her grandfather.
With more opportunities and support, we will see many women come forward and lead the way. Women who have self-built empires, who are the real decision makers, who are leaders of the pack. Very soon, we will see more businesswomen in the male dominated billionaire list. And maybe, they do not come from the family owned business clans, rather from a niche of their own.