Vinod Khosla of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sanjiv Sidhu of i2 Technologies are no longer billionaires, according to the latest Forbes billionaires’ list. Khosla's net worth was almost halved from $1 billion last year to $550 million this year. Sanjiv Sidhu's fortune fell when his company posted a huge loss of $12.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002. Sidhu's net worth dwindled from $1.2 billion to $440 million.

While Indians based in the U.S. could not make it into the billionaires' club, their counterparts in India have managed to do just that.

Azim Premji, 57, was valued at $5.9 billion and ranked 45 for 2003. Last year, his net worth was $6.4 billion ranked 41. This year, his net worth has gone down while his position moved up four places.

The Ambanis were clubbed together at number 123 with a net worth of $2.8 billion. Ambani brothers Mukesh and Anil took charge of the $13.8 billion-revenue Reliance group after the death of patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani last July. The Ambanis gained in the acquisition of state-owned Indian Petrochemicals for $536 million and also with BSES, a utility, for $250 million.

With $2.4 billion, Kumar M. Birla, positioned 158, heads one of India's leading family conglomerates. He moved up from 200 last year ($2.1 billion) by combining the group's metals business in flagship Hindalco and buying an Australian copper mine for $43 million in 2003. Birla also increased his stake in Larsen & Toubro, an engineering and cement company, from 10% to 15% and is reportedly looking out for more. He is also eyeing the entertainment segment.

Lakshmi Mittal, the world's second-largest steelmaker, oversees the LNM Group. He is ranked 177 with $2.2 billion. Among the Group's holdings is Ispat International, which posted $4.5 billion in sales in 2001. LNM's steel mills span 12 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Romania and Algeria.

Age does not seem to deter the 73-year-old old Pallonji S. Mistry, a construction magnate and real estate developer. At an early age, he got into privately owned family business. His brisk expansion strategy got him lucrative contracts in India and overseas, mainly Muscat. Mistry is also the largest individual shareholder in Tata Sons, the holding company of the $9.4 billion Tata group, India's leading business conglomerate. His 18.4% stake is worth around $1.6 billion. Forbes estimates his net worth at $2 billion and ranked 199.

At number 386 is Adi Godrej, 60, with $1.1 billion. The MIT graduate heads a privately owned third-generation family conglomerate whose businesses ranges from locks and office furniture to soaps and software services.

Shiv Nadar, 57, slipped from $1.2 billion (ranked 378) in 2002 to $ 1 billion (ranked 427) in 2003. He owns 78% of HCL Technologies, a software services provider. Like Premji, he is now looking outside the U.S. HCL Group fell prey to the global tech spending slowdown and merged all software business into the flagship HCL Technologies in a bid to shore up its stock price, off nearly 30% last year.