Last week in a nutshell
Forbes' annual rich list is out, and Ambani is 9th. There are now more billionaires than ever: 2,781 in all, 141 more than last year and 26 more than the record set in 2021. They’re richer than ever, worth $14.2 trillion in total. Read the full story below.
RBI plans on banning forex derivative trading. Brokerages have started asking clients to close out contracts after exchanges reaffirmed the ruling from RBI that participants must have actual foreign exchange exposure (do business in more than one currency). Zerodha had asked traders to close open positions before 5th April to be compliant with RBI rules.
India & China don’t agree on trade figures. Over the past 3 years, commerce ministry data on bilateral trade with China has hovered around $95 bn. Data from the Chinese govt shows above $110 bn. Reports say that “underreporting” and “unfair cross-border trade practices” may be plausible reasons for the wide variations in data.
The Richie Rich Club
Two-thirds of the top 200 richest are worth more than a year ago; only one-fourth are poorer. Within India, there has been a similar trend among billionaires. In fact, Mumbai has beaten Beijing to become Asia's billionaire capital for the first time. Indian billionaires' cumulative wealth reached US$1 trillion.
Forbes has a simple methodology to calculate net worth. The formula is simply the total value of your assets minus all of your liabilities. The figure you end up with is your net worth. However, their method is not always accurate. In 2020 while exposing Kylie Jenner’s net worth, Forbes claimed that she sold half of her cosmetics company in one of the greatest celebrity cash-outs of all time. But the deal’s fine print reveals that she has been inflating the size and success of her business, apparently for years. Jenner's attorney says the story is filled with outright lies.
The U.S. now boasts a record 813 billionaires worth a combined $5.7 trillion. China remains second, with 473 (including Hong Kong) worth $1.7 trillion, despite weak consumer spending and a real estate bust that helped wipe out some $300 billion in wealth. India, which has 200 billionaires (also a record), ranks third.
To calculate their total net worth, Forbes used stock prices and exchange rates from March 8, 2024. See the top 10 world’s billionaires ranked:
1. Bernard Arnault - $233 Billion
2. Elon Musk - $195 Billion
3. Jeff Bezos - $194 Billion
4. Mark Zuckerberg - $177 Billion
5. Larry Ellison - $141 Billion
6. Warren Buffett - $133 Billion
7. Bill Gates - $128 Billion
8. Steve Ballmer - $121 Billion
9. Mukesh Ambani - $116 Billion
10. Larry Page - $114 Billion
