Ambanis, Premji become poorer

By siliconindia staff writer   |   Tuesday, 18 May 2004, 19:30 IST
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MUMBAI: More than Rs 2 lakh crore were lost in the crash at the BSE on Monday. Thousands were ruined. Some lost their life’s savings and some a portion of their portfolio. But the billion dollar club lost in thousands of crores. Personal wealth that is. While the Ambani brothers topped the hit chart with Rs 5,935 crore, Wipro’s Azim Premji came a close a second with Rs 5,532 crore. Here’s a snap shot of the losses suffered by India ’s corporate czars. For investors, the return to power of a Congress-led coalition has meant nothing but a terrible time. Monday’s historic market crash meant a staggering loss of Rs 1,33,602 crore in a single day. This was perhaps the largest one-day fall in market cap that the Indian stock market has seen in its history. The current political turmoil in India has taken a heavy toll on the market, with the BSE 30-share sensex crashing 1,421 points or 24% since its high of 5,926 on April 23 ‘04 . The sensex recorded the second largest daily fall, of 565 points, to end at 4,505 on Monday. The 1,421-point fall has resulted in an erosion of Rs 3,58,880 crore or 27% in investor wealth in just 16 sessions. The market fall accounted for around 70% of the wealth generated during the June ‘03-April ‘04 period. The free fall is attributed to fears that the new government may adopt populist measures.