Covishield boost: Cyrus Poonawalla is world’s richest healthcare billionaire
The 80-year-old’s net worth is $26 billion, as per Hurun Research Institute’s report. He is the only Indian in the top-10 list, which has four from China
India’s Cyrus Poonawalla is the world’s richest billionaire in the healthcare sector, according to a report.
Poonawalla, the chairman and managing director of Serum Institute of India (SII), has topped the Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022.
The 80-year-old’s net worth is $26 billion, as per Hurun Research Institute’s report. He is the only Indian in the top-10 list, which has four from China. His wealth grew 41 per cent from the previous year, largely driven by SII’s COVID vaccines including Covishield.
SII, founded by Poonawalla in 1966, is now the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by the number of doses produced and sold globally (more than 1.5 billion doses). It is India’s No. 1 biotechnology company.
In March, Poonawalla was conferred with Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour of India. He is the fourth richest in India. His son Adar Poonawalla is the CEO of SII.
China has most healthcare billionaires
China has the most healthcare industry billionaires with 34, followed by the US (16), Switzerland (15), Germany (11), and India (9).
The total wealth of the world’s top 100 entrepreneurs in the healthcare industry is $721 billion. They come from 12 countries.
“The wealth is a snapshot of 14 January 2022, drawn from the recently released Hurun Global Rich List 2022. The threshold for the Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022 is $3 billion, and the total wealth of the world’s top 100 entrepreneurs in the healthcare industry is $721 billion. They come from 12 countries. The average age is 67 years old, 3 years older than the average age of the Hurun Global Rich List,” the report said.
On Hurun Global Rich List 2022, the healthcare industry surpassed real estate for the first time as the main source of wealth, with 294 billionaires, 8.7% of the total list.