Dilip Shanghvi, founder and managing director of Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries, has been named in the list of Asia’s top ten wealthiest self-made billionaires, according to Wealth-X. Shanghvi, ranked seventh, is the only Indian on the list with a net worth of USD 13.5 billion.
Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing is Asia?s wealthiest self-made entrepreneur with an estimated net worth of US$29.4 billion, taking the top spot on a Wealth-X top 10 list that is dominated by other businessmen from the Special Administrative Region and mainland China.
The combined wealth of the seven individuals from Hong Kong and mainland China is US$128.7 billion, nearly 70% of the total wealth of the 10 men on the list.
Shanghvi founded Sun Pharmaceuticals in 1983 with five psychiatry products and a marketing team of just two persons. Over the years, the company grew manifold and made many acquisitions, the latest being the USD 4 billion Ranbaxy deal.
He is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company and Shantilal Shanghvi Foundation.
To compile the list, Wealth-X, the ultra high net worth (UHNW) intelligence and prospecting firm – looked at self-made entrepreneurs with a primary business address in Asia. Li, the 85-year-old founding chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings, made the bulk of his wealth through shrewd property investments.
He and his family, however, have been on a selling spree in mainland China since August 2013 ? reportedly selling about $2.9 billion of their Chinese property assets in less than a year.
The combined wealth of the 10 businessmen on this year?s list is US$169.9 billion as of 31 March 2014, up 52% from the combined wealth of the 10 entrepreneurs who appeared on the list a year ago -S$112 billion.
?Asia is still at the early stages of a 150-year cycle of wealth creation, and we expect wealth in the region will be extremely dynamic in the years to come. China will continue to dominate the Asian economic landscape, and the wealth of China?s ultra high net worth population will increase at a rapid clip,? said Wealth-X CEO Mykolas Rambus.
Combined wealth of Asia’s top ten self-made billionaires jumped 52 per cent to USD 169.9 billion as of March 31, 2014 from USD 112 billion last year.
Others on the list include Lee Shau Kee of Hong Kong at the second position with net worth of USD 22.8 billion, followed by Lui Che Woo (Hong Kong, USD 21.1 billion) and Wang Jianlin (China, USD 16.6 billion) in the second and third place, respectively.
Masayoshi Son of Japan was ranked fifth on the list with a fortune of USD 16.4 billion, Robert Kuok of Hong Kong (6th, USD 15 billion), Ma Huateng of China (8th, USD 13.2 billion), Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi of Thailand (9th, USD 11.3 billion) and Li Hejun of China (10th, USD 10.6 billion).
