Time to open the sails

Quite frankly, it8217;s getting quite boring, this Forbes list of billionaires. And predictable. And repetitive. There8217;s nothing to look forward to any more. For years now, it8217;s largely the same faces. Whatever the status of Bill Gates may be among intellectuals, I8217;m yet to come across a single techie who doesn8217;t aspire to replicate his money model. However much I may respect and study the way Buffett has gone about creating wealth, the fact that nobody else comes anywhere near him in the wealth creation domain is unnerving. Is the age of wealth creation over? Have the world8217;s biggest wealth creators peaked? Is there anybody out there? Aren8217;t we going to see new global icons of wealth? Without downplaying the US lead and growth of enterprise and wealth creation, may I offer a rising alternative?

India.

Of course, the centuries-long lead the United States has over India can8217;t be narrowed down in a couple of decades. But ever since Forbes began listing billionaires in 1986, the number of billionaires from other countries has been rising. That8217;s not surprising, for the lists came at a time when the world economy began globalising, bringing opportunities to the entrepreneurs of countries like Japan, UK, Russia and Germany. And though it wasn8217;t until 1991 that India opened up, its late start combined with a technological leap has brought it on the world billionaires map today.

This year, there are 23 Indian billionaires 8212; more than Brazil8217;s 16, China8217;s 8, France8217;s 14, Hong Kong8217;s 17, and one short of Japan8217;s and UK8217;s 24 at 371, US leads by multiples. Compared to last year8217;s deadly dozen that8217;s almost a doubling of numbers. Even as Lakshmi Mittal Rank 5; net worth 23.5 billion continues to lead Indian billionaires by a wide margin, Azim Premji Rank 25; net worth 13.3 billion stays well ahead of the rest. Brothers Ambani, Sunil Mittal, Shiv Nadar, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Pallonji Mistry are the other usual suspects in the list. A mix characterised largely by inherited fortunes that the next generation has been able to multiply.

But it is the new, self-made entrants that show how much wealth can be created when hungry enterprise marries the market. IIT-D alumnus Anurak Dikshit, 34, controls 32 per cent of PartyGaming, an online gaming company. With a net worth of 3.3 billion, he is 207 on the Forbes list and the 10th richest Indian. A stock market listing, even if the stock at Rs 969 has been lying dormant and below offer price, has brought Naresh Goel, 56 Rank 512; net worth 1.5 billion into this list and made him the 16th wealthiest Indian. Or meet Tulsi Tanti, 48, who moved from textiles to alternative energy and whose company Suzlon is becoming the darling of investors 8212; since listing, the stock which has jumped 2.5-fold in less than six months to Rs 1,288 has made it India8217;s 15th most valuable company.

It8217;s not that these 23 billionaires have suddenly emerged from the shadows. Way back in 2000, riding the tech boom, India had as many as nine billionaires in the Forbes list. The number fell to four the next year when the market crashed but since then it has steadily risen to five in 2002, seven in 2003, nine in 2004, 12 last year, and 23 today. Interestingly, the number of Indian Indians 8212; that is Indians living and operating from India 8212; has increased from 75 per cent in 2005 to 83 per cent today. Lakshmi Mittal, Anil Agarwal and Naresh Geol operate from the UK, while Dikshit works out of Gibraltar since gambling is legal there.

The combined wealth of Indian billionaires is 98.8 billion, 61 per cent higher than the previous year8217;s figure. Over the past decade, Indian billionaires8217; wealth has grown by 36 per cent per annum. The pace has increased in the past five years, rising 47 per cent per annum, illustrating the India Arriving story. In 2000, the heyday of the tech boom, when any company with a 8216;tech8217;, an 8216;infosys8217; or a 8216;soft8217; in a prefix, suffix or anywhere in between, was being lapped up and its prices were rising at 100 per cent per month, Indian billionaires8217; wealth had jumped five-fold. In 2004, it doubled to 31.9 billion, and the next year it rose by 92 per cent to 61.3 billion. The only two years when it fell were hangovers of the tech bust, in 2001 and 2002.

If the past is any indication and the wealth of Indian billionaires continues to rise at historic rates, by 2014 India8217;s 114 billionaires should have a combined net worth of over a trillion dollars; and by 2016, 176 of them should be worth more than 2 trillion. If that sounds a simplistic extrapolation of an optimistic number-cruncher, I plead partially guilty. Yes, I am optimistic about India, about Indian enterprise, about India8217;s opportunities. And for those who point out the road blocks, physical, political or economic, which will come in the way, I can only say that you8217;re looking at an empty glass. For, each of those road blocks is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to create wealth.

Of course, the stock market may not deliver 50 per cent per annum returns as it has been for the past three years 8212; the main reason for Indian billionaires8217; rising net worth. Besides, the numbers above ride far more conservative assumptions. But the fact that the stock markets are today the world8217;s biggest tool of wealth creation lies beyond doubt and the Forbes list shows that India is waking up to that reality. The opportunity is here, the tide is rising. It8217;s up to entrepreneurs to open the sails.