By Umaima Saeed

Copyright gqindia

India’s population of wealthy families is growing at an unprecedented rate. The recently released Mercedes-Benz Hurun India Wealth Report 2025 reveals that over 870,000 households in the country now qualify as millionaires, each possessing assets worth more than Rs 8.5 crore. This increase, which is nearly double the figure from just four years ago, can be attributed to a thriving economy, rising stock markets, and significant business growth.
Not Delhi or Bangalore—this city is India’s “millionaire capital” with 1.42 lakh families
Mumbai has emerged as India’s ‘millionaire capital,’ with approximately 142,000 wealthy families. Following Mumbai is Delhi, which has around 68,200 millionaire households, and Bengaluru, with about 31,600. At the state level, Maharashtra leads the list with 178,000 millionaire households—a significant increase of nearly 200 per cent since 2021, driven by strong economic growth. This wealth is concentrated in just a few regions: the top 10 states account for nearly 80 per cent of all millionaire families. After Maharashtra and Delhi, the other leading states include Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Haryana.
The report highlights that the combined Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of all states and union territories increased by 51 per cent between 2020-21 and 2023-24. This remarkable economic growth has been a major factor contributing to the rise in millionaire households across India.
Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher at Hurun India, stated, “In less than a decade, the number of Indian households worth over $1 million has skyrocketed by 445 per cent of 2017’s millionaires have become ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and a mere 0.01 per cent made it to billionaire status.”
The survey also reveals changing lifestyle preferences among India’s wealthy. UPI (Unified Payments Interface) has surpassed cash and credit/debit cards as the preferred payment method, with 35 per cent opting it. This is compared to 18 per cent who prefer cash, 16 per cent who choose bank transfers, and 14 per cent who use cards. Notably, 34 per cent of respondents reported that they do not consume alcohol. Among those who do, whisky remains the top choice at 32 per cent, followed by red wine at 11 per cent and champagne at 9 per cent.
According to Forbes, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is currently the richest person in India, with a net worth of $119.5 billion. He is closely followed by Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, with a net worth of $116 billion. Savitri Jindal, a steel and power tycoon, ranks third with a net worth of $43.7 billion, making her the richest woman in India. Shiv Nadar, the founder of HCL, is in fourth place with $40.2 billion, while Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharma rounds up the top five with a net worth of $32.4 billion.