MUKESH & ANIL AMBANI (65th on the Forbes list)
Barely two spots behind Mittal are Mukesh and Anil Ambani on the Forbes list. But it is just the legacy of their father, Dhirubhai Ambani, that they are building on.
From being a gas station attendant, Dhirubhai built the largest private sector group in India. Today Reliance provides almost 5 per cent of the central government's total revenues.
When Dhirubhai passed away two years ago, there were niggling doubts on how his sons, Mukesh and Anil, would handle the empire. But the duo has proved themselves worthy successors. The division of labour between the two is fairly clear. While Mukesh looks after the operational aspects of the empire, Anil handles the financial matters.
Together they have managed to plug an old economy giant like Reliance into the new economy. The group's expansionary urges now finds an outlet in the information technology sector. Reliance Telecom, an unlisted company with two operating divisions - Reliance Mobile and Reliance Basic is Mukesh Ambani's pet project.
Reliance Mobile has become a phenomenon in the telecom sector and a beautiful campus called the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City has been built in Mumbai.
Reliance has been galloping ahead in other areas too. Last year, it hit a jackpot when it found oil reserves in Andhra Pradesh. Meanwhile, Reliance completed its acquisition of BSES and has renamed it Reliance Power.
Last year, the group had revenues of $16.8 billion and accounted for 3.5 per cent of India's Gross Domestic Product.
Mukesh is married to Nita and is rather low profile, preferring to spend time with his children or reading technical journals. In contrast, the flamboyant Anil Ambani is seen at many Bollywood parties. He is married to former film actress, Tina, and is a fitness freak who participated in the recent Mumbai Marathon.
Their fortune has been assessed at $6 billion and they bag the 65th rank on the Forbes list.