Dilip Sanghvi Replaces Mukesh Ambani as Richest Indian

Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani was on Thursday replaced by Dilip Shanghvi as India's richest person, with shares of Sun Pharma and Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, or Sparc (Sun Pharma's research and development arm), closing at record highs.

While Ambani is worth Rs 1.38 lakh crore ($22.2 billion), Shanghvi is valued at Rs 1.39 lakh crore ($22.4 billion) at current prices, reports rediff.com.

Should Sun's Suzlon Energy and Ranbaxy acquisitions be factored in, Shanghvi's value would be even higher.

Shanghvi's holdings in these entities, valued at about Rs 22,000 crore (Rs 220 billion), haven't been considered, as the deals are yet to be closed.

While the valuation of Mukesh Ambani, India's richest for the past eight years, has increased only 11%, Shanghvi, the founder and managing director of India's largest drug maker, has seen his wealth rise by 65%.

On Wednesday, while the Reliance Industries stock lost 1.63%, the Sun Pharma and Sparc stocks rose 6.6% and 4.6%  respectively, with the company securing a nod for an antiepileptic drug from the US drug regulator.

Reliance Industries' market value is slated as Rs 2.86 lakh crore, and that of Sun Pharma's market capitalisation stands at Rs 2.08 lakh crore, while that of Sparc is about Rs 10,200 crore (Rs 102 billion).

The promoter in Reliance Industries is worth Rs 1.30 lakh, while that in Sun Pharma is valued at Rs 1.32 lakh crore.