Dilip Shanghvi, who started an Indian pharmaceutical company more than three decades ago selling a single drug, has overtaken oil refining tycoon Mukesh Ambani to become India’s richest person.
Shanghvi is founder and managing director of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., India’s biggest drugmaker by market value. As per the index, Shanghvi’s net worth now stands at $21.6 billion, marginally higher than Ambani’s $21.5 billion. The change in the order comes two days after the Forbes rich list mentioned Mukesh Ambani as the richest Indian for the eighth year in a row with a net worth of $21 billion.
A day before, Sun had announced the acquisition of the opiates business of British drug major GlaxoSmithKline. Strategically significant, the deal strengthens Sun’s presence in the therapeutic segment of controlled substances.
