Monday’s stock market chaos has also struck some of India’s wealthiest individuals severely. Along with retail investors, the richest four billionaires—Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Savitri Jindal and family, and Shiv Nadar—together lost over $10 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire ranking.
Mukesh Ambani, the richest Indian and chairman of Reliance Industries, had the largest loss, with his net worth declining by $3.6 billion to $87.7 billion. Gautam Adani, the head of the Adani Group, lost $3 billion, equating to $57.3 billion. Savitri Jindal and family, owners of the OP Jindal Group, lost $2.2 billion, bringing their wealth to $33.9 billion. Shiv Nadar, creator of HCL Technologies, lost $1.5 billion, equating to $30.9 billion.
This fall was followed by a huge crash in stock markets due to a global selloff fueled by increased trade tensions and fears of recession in the US. The Sensex dipped more than 3,000 points, with the Nifty crossing 22,000. All sectors were impacted, with the Nifty Metal index losing 8% and the Nifty IT index losing over 7%. Small-cap stocks dropped by 10%, further depicting the market mayhem.
Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist of Geojit Financial Services, noted the historic volatility and uncertainty that were weighing on world markets. He said India is not likely to get severely affected, as only 2% of its GDP comes from U.S. exports. Ongoing talks for a Bilateral Trade Agreement would also soften tariff impacts.
Billionaires are also losing billions around the globe, with Elon Musk losing $130 billion this year and Jeff Bezos losing $45.2 billion. Warren Buffett alone is gaining $12.7 billion as the world remains in chaos.
