From Mumbai to mini-metros: India's most valuable family businesses spread their wings

Mint

12-08-2025

Mumbai remains the undisputed favourite for housing the headquarters of India's most valuable family businesses, hosting 91 companies this year—a sharp rise from 65 last year, according to the 2025 Barclays Private Clients Hurun India Most Valuable Family Businesses List, jointly released by Barclays Private Clients and Hurun India. But Tier 2 cities are grabbing attention as they steadily step into the spotlight, the report noted.
Vadodara has six companies, while Coimbatore, Nagpur and Ludhiana each have four. These hubs host some of India's well-known family-run names, including Inox India, Elgi Equipments, Sunflag Iron & Steel and Vardhman Textiles.
Reliance Industries, valued at ₹28.2 trillion and helmed by the Ambani family, firmly cements Mumbai's top spot.
Among Tier 1 cities, the NCR comes second with 62 companies spread across New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Manesar—led by the Nadar family's HCL Technologies, worth ₹6.5 trillion. Kolkata follows with 25 companies, trailed by Pune (21) and Chennai (17). Meanwhile, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Hyderabad each host 10 companies, underscoring the wide and robust footprint of family-run enterprises across India's urban hubs.
The list also highlights standout first-generation entrepreneurs now joined by their next-generation leaders. Topping the list is the Adani family, worth ₹14 trillion through Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and more. They're followed by the Poonawalla family ( ₹2.3 trillion, Serum Institute), Murali K. Divi's family ( ₹1.8 trillion, Divi's Laboratories), the Nuwals ( ₹1.6 trillion, Solar Industries), the Reddys ( ₹1 trillion, Apollo Hospitals) and the Grandhis ( ₹98,300 crore, GMR).
That said, 76% of India's most valuable family businesses are now led by second-generation leaders, marking a strong phase of intergenerational wealth transfer. Another 17% are run by third-generation heirs, highlighting families that have sustained their businesses across three economic cycles.
Generational wealth transfer
Nitin Singh, head of Barclays Private Bank, Asia Pacific, said, 'This year's findings reveal an unprecedented ₹130 trillion in wealth expected to transfer across generations over the next five years, and a record 71 families now operating dedicated family offices, underscoring the focus on structured wealth management."
Family offices in India have skyrocketed from 45 in 2018 to 300 in 2024, driven by the need to preserve wealth, improve governance, and ensure smooth succession. Beyond managing assets, they handle tax-efficient estate planning, align philanthropy with family values and secure legacies through encrypted digital vaults.
A report in June by Julius Baer and EY noted that family offices are increasingly partnering with foreign counterparts and funnelling capital into portfolio management schemes (PMS) and alternative investment funds (AIFs). For many, growth assets now make up more than half of their allocation, with startups, AIFs, private credit, and private equity/venture capital (PE/VC) offering high returns, diversification, and exposure to emerging sectors. Real estate avenues such as real estate investment trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) are also being tapped for added diversification.
The Barclays Private Clients and Hurun India report noted that the top 10 families are now worth ₹66.7 trillion, up from ₹59.5 trillion last year, underscoring the sustained growth of family-led enterprises.
According to UBS's Global Family Office Report 2025, a global trade war was already ranked as the year's top investment risk even before the US tariff announcement.
'Looking forward five years, family offices are concerned about what risks might follow, especially major geopolitical conflict, a global recession or a debt crisis. To protect portfolios, they're looking to diversify through strategies such as manager selection and/or active management, hedge funds and increasingly precious metals," the UBS report said.
The report noted that despite macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties, family offices raised their developed market equity allocations to 26% in 2024 from 24% in 2023, with those planning changes aiming to lift them further to 29%.
PE partnership
Another interesting observation from the report is that private equity has moved past merely knocking on the doors of India's family businesses. It now has a seat at the boardroom table.
'From billion-dollar stakes in icons like Haldiram's to transformative healthcare investments in Meril, private equity is reshaping India's family-run enterprises at every scale. In the past year alone, global investors such as Temasek, Bain Capital, ChrysCapital, Multiples—and sovereign wealth giants like ADIA (Abu Dhabi Investment Authority) with their $200 million investment in Meril—have partnered with promoters to unlock expansion, professionalise governance, and bridge succession transitions," Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher of Hurun India, said.
According to market participants, growth and late-stage private equity funds delivered better returns than early-stage ones, thanks to quicker liquidity and faster reinvestment. For family offices, investing in mature, exit-ready companies often means higher returns and more capital flowing back to investors.