INDIA IS No.3 in the 2023 edition of Hurun’s Global Rich List. Its contribution to the global billionaire population is 8% as against 4.5% five years ago. For Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher, Hurun India, the trend needs to be celebrated. He believes individual wealth creation plays an important role in a country’s economic aspirations. “Wealth creation when done transparently deserves a lot of respect,” he says.
Junaid, who partnered with Hurun’s global founder, Rupert Hoogewerf, in 2011 to set up the India business, has created some of the most credible lists—including India Rich List, Future Unicorn Index and India Real Estate Rich List. “Researching wealth creation gives us an opportunity to track the India growth story,” says Junaid, who brings out these lists by partnering with corporates who fund them. The partner for the rich list is IIFL Wealth, while the unicorn list is funded by ASK Private Wealth. Hurun’s business model is built around events that are organised to celebrate these lists. It brings out a philanthropy list and an art list as well. The rich list carries new-age wealth creators too. Junaid believes it is important to motivate young Indians to become entrepreneurs. This led him to foray into angel investing. “I realised I should have skin in the game.” — Ajita Shashidhar