Lakshmi Mittal beats Mukesh Ambani to become the richest Indian

London based steel tycoon Lakshmi Narayan Mittal has pipped Mukesh Ambani to become the richest Indian on Forbes billionaire list released on Thursday.

Mittal, with a net worth of $31.1 billion, is ranked at the sixth spot worldwide on the list with Mukesh Ambani’s slipping to the ninth rank. In the 2010 Forbes list Ambani’s name had figured at the fourth slot with a net worth of $29 billion followed by Mittal in the fifth position with $28.7 billion.

There are 55 Indians in the Forbes list this year, including first timer Brijmohan Lall Munjal of the Hero Honda Group and Ashwin Dani of Asian Paints.

The list reflects the dynamic changes in the Indian economy as self-made industrialist Gautam Adani figures at number six among the richest Indians, with a net worth of $10 billion, a notch above Birla family scion Kumar Mangalam ($9.2 billion).

Anil Ambani is ranked as the eighth richest Indian with a net worth of $8.8 billion. Sunil Mittal has bagged the ninth spot with a net worth of $8.3 billion while Adi Godrej and family ($7.3 billion) stood at the tenth rank.