India''s fast economic growth is generating incredible wealth at least at the top of the pyramid. There are 19 Indians, excluding non-residents like Lakshmi Mittal, in the latest Forbes list of billionaires.

Most of the Indian billionaires should thank the booming stock markets for helping them make it to the list. Almost all the new entrants have seen the stock price of their companies run up significantly over the last year.

The list is headed by Wipro chairman Azim Premji with a net worth of $13.3 billion followed by the Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil, with net worth of $8.5 billion and $5.7 billion respectively.

There are many new entrants from India to the billionaire club this year. Among them are Baba Kalyani of auto ancillary major Bharat Forge, Tulsi Tanti of wind energy equipment manufacturer Suzlon, Uday Kotak of Kotak Bank and Vijay Mallya of the UB group.

The notable individuals who do not control any publicly listed companies are KP Singh of Delhi based real estate company DLF and Indu Jain of media giant Bennett, Coleman & Co, publishers of The Times of India, The Economic Times besides several other dailies and periodicals..

The resident Indian billionaires have a combined net worth of $67.7 billion, marginally ahead of the combined net worth of $67 billion of 27 Japanese billionaires on the list.

The resident Indian billionaires

Including non-residents, the number of Indian citizens on the Forbes list goes up to 23. The most prominent entry into this club of non-resident Indian billionaires is Anurag Dikshit, co-promoter of online casino Party Gaming which went public last year.

10 new Indian billionaires were added to the list this year, more than any other country except the US.

Non-resident Indian Billionaires

Including non-residents, the total net worth of Indian billionaires in the Forbes list goes up to $98.8 billion, way ahead of Japan and China.