Meet Hyderabad’s billionaires making waves on Forbes India’s Richest list

Topping the Hyderabad billionaires in the Forbes roster is Murali Divi and family, securing the 33rd spot with a staggering net worth of $6.3 billion.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad now boasts of four billionaires who have secured positions in the prestigious ‘India’s 100 Richest’ list for 2023, released recently by Forbes. Topping the Hyderabad billionaires in the Forbes roster is Murali Divi and family, securing the 33rd spot with a staggering net worth of $6.3 billion. Murali Divi, a US.-trained scientist founded generic drugs maker Divi’s Laboratories 33 years ago, initially establishing it as a drug research firm.

Today, the company stands tall among the world’s leading suppliers of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Forbes highlighted that Divi’s Laboratories not only engages in custom manufacturing for prominent pharmaceutical firms but also produces nutraceuticals.

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Following closely behind, P.P. Reddy & P.V. Krishna Reddy clinched the 54th position with a net worth of $4.05 billion. P.P. Reddy, hailing from an agricultural background, founded Megha Engineering Enterprises in 1989, primarily focusing on constructing small pipes for municipalities. However, the company swiftly expanded its portfolio to encompass monumental infrastructure projects, including dams, natural gas distribution networks, power plants, and roads.

Renamed Megha Engineering & Infrastructures in 2006, the company, led by P.V. Krishna Reddy since 1991, achieved a milestone by completing India’s largest lift irrigation project, valued at a substantial $14 billion, in Telangana. Forbes noted that the subsidiary Olectra Greentech, leveraging technology from China’s BYD, boasts an impressive order book, crossing 3,000 buses.

The Reddy Family (Dr Reddy’s) secured the 75th position, amassing a net worth of $3 billion, largely attributed to their stake in the renowned generics maker, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories. Founded in 1984 by the late K. Anji Reddy, the company focused on producing pharmaceutical ingredients and generics. The firm garners over a third of its revenue from North America and more than a fourth from India, as per Forbes.

P.V. Ramprasad Reddy claimed the 98th spot on the Forbes list, boasting a net worth of $2.35 billion. Serving on the board of Aurobindo Pharma, which he co-founded in 1986, P.V. Ramprasad Reddy contributes to the production of drugs addressing various ailments like diabetes and cardiac issues.

With a significant portion of its revenue sourced from the U.S. and Europe, Aurobindo Pharma received approval in September 2023 to launch the cancer drug Revlimid in India.