This year, India produced 229 new billionaires, reflecting the country's expanding wealth landscape.
Physicswallah Co-Founder Alakh Pandey Among India’s 229 New Billionaires on Forbes 2026 List
The Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2026 highlights a significant milestone for Indian edtech, as Alakh Pandey, co-founder of Physicswallah, makes his debut. At 33, Pandey has risen from teaching physics online in 2014, after dropping out of engineering college, to building a digital education platform with Prateek Boob in 2020 that helps students prepare for competitive exams.
This year, India produced 229 new billionaires, reflecting the country’s expanding wealth landscape. Traditional industrialists continue to dominate the top positions. Mukesh Ambani retains the title of India’s richest individual, followed closely by Gautam Adani. Savitri Jindal, head of the O.P. Jindal group, remains the country’s wealthiest woman, ranking third overall, and leads a group of 20 Indian women billionaires.
Among the fastest-growing fortunes is steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who recorded the largest gains in both dollar value and percentage growth, positioning him as India’s fourth-richest person.
The list also sees notable re-entries and new entries among the top ten. Uday Kotak, founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank and a Padma Bhushan awardee, has secured his position, while Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm, has returned to the roster after earlier appearances.
Alakh Pandey’s inclusion signals the rise of India’s digital education sector in wealth creation. From online classrooms to a billion-dollar enterprise, his journey underscores how entrepreneurship in edtech is reshaping the profile of India’s newest billionaires.
