From Ambani to Adani: India's top 4 billionaires lose over $10B in black Monday

India’s top four billionaires—Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Savitri Jindal & family, and Shiv Nadar—saw their combined net worth fall by $10.3 billion on Monday, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire list, as markets witnessed a sharp selloff.

Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest individual, suffered the biggest hit with his wealth dropping by $3.6 billion to $87.7 billion. Gautam Adani, the second-richest Indian, saw a $3 billion decline, bringing his total net worth down to $57.3 billion.

Savitri Jindal & family, ranked third in India and 45th globally, lost $2.2 billion as their net worth fell to $33.9 billion. Shiv Nadar also saw his fortune drop by $1.5 billion, settling at $30.9 billion.

The sharp drop in billionaire wealth came as Indian benchmark indices plunged, mirroring global market weakness sparked by escalating trade tensions and recession fears in the US. The Sensex tanked over 3,900 points, while the Nifty fell below the 22,000 mark, amid broad-based selling across sectors.

All major sectoral indices were deep in the red. Nifty Metal plunged 8%, Nifty IT dropped over 7%, while Auto, Realty, and Oil & Gas declined more than 5% each. In the broader market, small-cap and mid-cap indices fell 10% and 7.3%, respectively.

"Globally markets are going through heightened volatility caused by extreme uncertainty. No one has a clue about how this turbulence caused by Trump tariffs will evolve. Wait and watch would be the best strategy in this turbulent phase of the market," said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

"There are a few things that investors should keep in mind. One, the irrational Trump tariffs will not continue for long. Two, India is relatively better placed since India’s exports to the US as a percentage of GDP is only around 2 percent and therefore the impact on India’s growth will not be significant. Three, India is negotiating a Bilateral Trade Agreement with the US and this is likely to be successful resulting in lower tariffs for India," he added.

Also Read: Stock Market Crash: Rs 19 lakh crore wiped out as Sensex starts with whopping 3,000-pt cut, Nifty below 21,800

While most billionaires globally are seeing their fortunes shrink in 2025, Warren Buffett is defying the trend. The legendary investor has added $12.7 billion to his net worth this year, taking it to $155 billion—even as global markets stumble due to trade war tensions triggered by President Donald Trump’s aggressive new tariff policies.

Since Trump returned to the White House earlier this year, Wall Street has lost nearly $8 trillion in market value—$5 trillion of which was wiped out in just the last two trading sessions after the announcement of the biggest tariff hike in over a century.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk's wealth fell by $130 billion year-to-date to $302 billion, while Jeff Bezos saw a decline of $45.2 billion, bringing his net worth down to $193 billion. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's fortune dropped $28.1 billion to $179 billion. Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, experienced an $18.6 billion fall to $158 billion.

Even Bill Gates wasn’t spared, with a $3.38 billion dip to $155 billion — placing him on par with Buffett.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)