India’s wealthiest self-made woman billionaire and top 10 richest women

Beauty entrepreneur Falguni Nayar, founder and CEO of Nykaa, has overtaken Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, founder of Biocon, as the country’s wealthiest self-made woman billionaire, following her company’s successful IPO (initial public offering) on November 10, 2021.

A former investment banker, who had a long stint of 18 years at Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, where she eventually rose to the position of Managing Director, Falguni launched her own company, FSN E-Commerce Ventures Limited, in 2012.

Falguni Nayar, Founder, Nykaa (Photo Courtesy: Nykaa)

The company offers a wide range of beauty products under the brand name of Nykaa – which is derived from the Sanskrit work ‘Nayaka’ meaning actress – in different categories such as makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrance.
Last year, Falguni was in the fourth place in the self-made billionaires list behind Kiran Mazumdar, Zoho’s Radha Vembu, and Arista Networks’s Jayshree Ullal.

Nykaa’s IPO has changed the equation, taking Falguni to the top spot in the Kotak Wealth Hurun India Leading (Self-Made) Wealthy Women List.

“This is the first time that a tech entrepreneur secures the top spot in the Hurun Rich Lists. For a while, we have been predicting that tech-based wealth creation will surpass the traditional sectors. Women entrepreneurs will continue to set new benchmarks,” Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Chief Researcher, Hurun India, told The Weekend Leader.

The 2020 list estimated Kiran Mazumdar’s wealth to be INR 36,000 crore. Radha Vembu, who was in the second place, is the sister of Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu and her wealth was estimated at INR 11,590 crore.

In the third place was Jayshree Ullal, CEO of Arista Networks, whose wealth was estimated at INR 10,220 crore.

In the overall list of wealthy women that included those who came from business families, Roshini Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of HCL Technologies headed the list with an estimated wealth of INR 54,850.

Here’s the list of wealthiest women of India: (Courtesy: Kotak Wealth Hurun)

Photo: IANS

1. ROSHNI NADAR MALHOTRA

Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of the INR 70,680 crore global technology company, HCL Technologies, ranks first on the Kotak Wealth Hurun - Leading Wealthy Women List 2020. The report estimates her wealth to be INR 54,850 crore. Roshni is currently the CEO and Executive Director of HCL Corporation, a holding company that controls HCL Tech and HCL Infosystems. Roshni graduated with a degree in Communications from Northwestern University and completed her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. Before joining HCL, Roshni worked at Sky News UK and CNN America as a news producer.

2. KIRAN MAZUMDAR SHAW

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Founder & MD of Biocon, ranks second on the Kotak Wealth Hurun - Leading Wealthy Women List 2020. The report estimates her wealth to be INR 36,600 crore. Kiran started Biocon in 1978 and has successfully led the biopharmaceutical company in the field of complex APIs and molecular biology. Kiran also sits on the board of Infosys. Kiran is the first woman business leader from India to sign the Giving Pledge. Kiran was awarded the Hurun Most Respected Entrepreneur of the Year 2017.

3. LEENA GANDHI TEWARI

Leena Gandhi Tewari ranks third on the Kotak Wealth Hurun - Leading Wealthy Women List 2020. The report estimates her wealth to be INR 21,340 crore. Leena chairs privately-held USV, which is a pioneer in diabetic and cardiovascular medicines in India with growing traction in APIs and biosimilars among other medical solutions. Leena’s grandfather, the late Vithal Gandhi, started USV in 1961, in partnership with Revlon. USV earns around 80% of its revenue from the domestic market.

4. NILIMA MOTAPARTI

Nilima Motaparti ranks fourth on the Kotak Wealth Hurun - Leading Wealthy Women List 2020. The report estimates her wealth to be INR 18,620 crore. Nilima is the Director (Commercial) of Divi’s Laboratories that is engaged in the manufacturing of generic compounds, nutraceutical ingredients and custom synthesis of APIs and Intermediates for global companies. With over five years of international experience in material requirement, planning and financing, Nilima joined Divi’s Laboratories as a Chief Controller (Commercial) in 2012.

5. RADHA VEMBU

Radha Vembu, sister of Zoho founder Sridhar, ranks fifth on the Kotak Wealth Hurun - Leading Wealthy Women List 2020. The report estimates her wealth to be INR 11,590 crore. After graduating from IIT-Madras, Radha joined Zoho, founded by her older brother Sridhar in 1997. After the Coronavirus outbreak, Zoho has provided free remote working tools to companies.

6. JAYSHREE ULLAL

Jayshree Ullal ranks sixth on the Kotak Wealth Hurun - Leading Wealthy Women List 2020. The report estimates her wealth to be INR 10,220 crore. London-born and raised in Delhi, Jayshree is the CEO of the fastest-growing cloud-networking company, Arista Networks, which is currently valued at USD 16 billion under her leadership. Formerly, Jayshree was a Senior Vice President at Cisco, responsible for a USD 10 billion business in the data centre, switching and services section.

7. RENU MUNJAL

Renu Munjal, the wife of the late Raman Munjal, ranks seventh on the Kotak Wealth Hurun - Leading Wealthy Women List 2020. The report estimates her wealth to be INR 8,690 crore. Renu is the former Executive Director of Hero MotoCorp and current Managing Director of Hero FinCorp. Renu also takes an active interest in projects concerning women empowerment.

8. MALIKA CHIRAYU AMIN

Malika Chirayu Amin ranks eighth on the Kotak Wealth Hurun - Leading Wealthy Women List 2020. The report estimates her wealth to be INR 7,570 crore. Malika has been with the company since 1988 and is currently the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Alembic.

9. ANU AGA & MEHER PUDUMJEE

With a wealth of INR 5,850 crore, Anu Aga & Meher Pudumjee of Thermax rank ninth on the Kotak Wealth Hurun - Leading Wealthy Women List 2020. In 2018, Anu retired from the Thermax board after crossing the age of 76. Meher, a chemical engineer from Imperial College of Science and Technology, was appointed as Thermax Chairperson in 2003.

10. FALGUNI NAYAR & FAMILY

Falguni Nayar & family, Founder and CEO of Nykaa ranks tenth on the Kotak Wealth Hurun - Leading Wealthy Women List 2020, with a wealth of INR 5,410 crore. In April 2020, Nykaa entered the unicorn club and the Mumbai-based beauty retailer was valued at USD 1.2 billion. - TWL Bureau