Smitha V. Crishna, a third-generation heir of the Godrej family, ranks first in the Kotak Wealth Hurun-Leading Wealthy Women 2018 list with an estimated wealth of ₹ 37,570 crore. Ms. Smitha owns one-fifth of the Godrej Group. In 2014, she made news with the purchase of a bungalow that belonged to Dr. Homi J. Bhabha for ₹ 371 crore.
Roshni Nadar, CEO and executive director at HCL, ranks second in the list with an estimated wealth of ₹30,200 crore. Ms. Roshni, who joined HCL in 2013 at the age of 28, is the daughter of Shiv Nadar, the founder of the IT behemoth. She also heads the Shiv Nadar Foundation.
“The women in the Hurun India Rich List have increased from 4% in 2012 to 9% in 2017. With India’s thriving consumer spending and a maturing tech ecosystem, we expect more women to lead the entrepreneurship story in India,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and chief researcher, Hurun Report India.
The chairperson of the Times Group, Indu Jain, ranks third in the list. Her wealth is estimated at ₹26,240 crore.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder and MD of Biocon, ranks fourth in the list with ₹24,790 crore. Ms. Mazumdar started Biocon in 1978 and has led the biopharmaceutical company in the field of complex APIs and molecular biology.
Kiran Nadar, wife of HCL founder Shiv Nadar, ranks fifth in the list with ₹20,120 crore.
Leena Gandhi Tewari, ranks sixth in the list with her wealth estimated at ₹10,730 crore. Ms. Leena chairs the privately held USV Pharma, a pioneer in diabetic and cardiovascular medicines in India.
Sangita Jindal, ranks seventh in the list with ₹10,450 crore. Ms. Jindal shares her wealth with her husband Sajjan Jindal, heir of the JSW Group.
Jayshree Ullal ranks eight in the list with her wealth estimated at ₹ 9,490 crore. The London-born Jayshree is the CEO of the cloud-networking company Arista Networks, which is currently valued at $19 billion.
Anu Aga, former chairperson of Thermax, ranks ninth in the list with an estimated wealth of ₹8,550 crore. She took over the reins of the company after the death of her husband, Rohinton Aga.
Shradha Agarwal ranks tenth in the list with ₹ 8,200 crore. In 2006, she co-founded Outcome Health, a healthcare technology and services company, formerly known as ContextMedia.
Industry wise, pharmaceuticals leads with 22 women from that sector on the list. It is followed by Software & Services with 12 individuals, and Food & Beverages with 8 individuals featured in the list.
City wise, with 25 women each, Mumbai and New Delhi are the leading cities for India’s super-rich women, followed by Bengaluru (14).