Forbes India — November 17, 2017

Ganesh Lad / Fotocorp

ACHARYA BALKRISHNA
+$4.05 bln (162%)
Rank 19

29 places
Ahead of several prominent industrialists,
Acharya Balkrishna, 45, the co-founder
and CEO of herbal consumer goods and
ayurvedic products maker Patanjali Ayurved,
is the highest gainer in the 2017 Forbes
India Rich List in terms of percentage rise
in wealth. He is up by 162 percent to $6.
billion in 2017 from $2.5 billion in 2016. An
ayurveda scholar, Balkrishna owns 98.
percent in the company which he started
in 2006, along with childhood friend and
yoga guru Baba Ramdev (who is the
company’s de facto brand ambassador, but
does not hold any stake in the business).
Patanjali has now emerged as a major
disruptor—in terms of creating demand
and adopting unique brand strategies—in
the FMCG sector. It has forced the local
arms of global giants such as Hindustan
Unilever, P&G, Colgate Palmolive and local
players like Dabur and Godrej Consumer
Products Ltd to rethink their traditional
marketing strategies. Balkrishna oversees
the ayurvedic pharmacy, health care and
alternative medicine clinics, besides ayurveda
research institutes. Patanjali, which recorded
net sales of `10,561 crore in FY17, plans to
launch a range of textile garments soon.

SAMEER GEHLAUT
+$1.55 bln (100%)
Rank 49

37 places
This self-made 43-year-old entrepreneur,
who is the founder and chairman of real
estate developer and home loans provider

Indiabulls Group, is the second highest

gainer on the list, in percentage terms, with

his wealth having doubled in the year under

consideration. Gehlaut’s wealth has been on

the rise led by rising demand for affordable

housing—due to a mix of easy-to-get housing

loans, low interest rates and increased

transparency—after the government’s strong

policy initiatives towards providing housing-

for-all. For FY17, Indiabulls Housing Finance

reported a loans growth CAGR of 27 percent

and profit growth of 24 percent. The housing

finance company plans to raise `45,000 crore

($6,764 million) for the current financial year,

which would mainly be through bonds. Also,

its finance company (Indiabulls Ventures) is

on an expansion drive to raise `3,000 crore

through a qualified institutional placement or

a rights issue, with plans to enter SME lending

and possibly asset reconstruction business.

MANGAL PRABHAT LODHA

+$1.7 bln (82.9%)

Rank 36



20 places

This is the case of one more real estate-

Mangal prabhat Lodha’s earnings have soared along with the growth in the real estate sector

By Salil Panchal

Shifting Sands

Fortunes oF IndIa’s weaLthIest contInue to rIse

and FaLL wIth chanGes In the busIness envIronMent

The

BiGGEST

GainERS

Richest

IndIans

The

[q u i c k t a k e s]

december 29, 2017 forbes india | 15