What does ultra-high net worth mean? How many are they and how do they live? What of India’s poorest? Who are we, as a country, once the slim upper crust has been peeled away?

Split three ways

The Indus Valley Annual Report 2025, published by venture capital firm Blume Ventures, divides India into three categories: India 1, representing the wealthiest 10% of the population; India 2, representing the middle 23%; and the vast swathe of India 3.

* ₹12.80 lakh

Ranked on its own as a country, India 1 would have a population of 140 million spread across 30 million households, and would be the 10th-largest country in the world. Its per capita income would stand at $15,000 (about ₹12.80 lakh).

This would place it at 63rd position on the list of countries by per capita income

For perspective, Oman, which is at 54 on the real list, has a per capita income of $20,000.

* ₹2.55 lakh

India 2 or the “aspirant class”, consisting of about 23% of the population, would be made up of 70 million households and 300 million people, and would have a per capita income of $3,000 (about ₹2.55 lakh).

* ₹85,000

India 3 would consist of 1 billion people across 205 million households, the entire “bottom” 67% of the economy. Per capita income here stands at $1,000 (about ₹85,000).

* ₹2.12 lakh

How badly do averages skew perception? In 2023, India’s average per capita income was placed at $2,500, or about ₹2.12 lakh.

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Who are the wealthiest?

* 3.7%

of the world’s HNI individuals are Indian citizens, according to the Knight Frank Wealth Report 2025, released in March. They define HNI as a net worth of $10 million or more.

* 85,698 people

Indians met this mark, according to the Knight Frank report.

* 3rd

India is third on the list of countries with the wealthiest billionaires. Indian billionaires collectively hold an estimated $950 billion in wealth, coming in immediately after the US ($5.7 trillion) and Mainland China ($1.34 trillion).

* 191

is the number of billionaires in India, as of 2025, according to the Knight Frank report

* 26

of these billionaires joined the ranks over the financial year 2023-24 alone. A big jump from seven new billionaires in 2019

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How do they spend?

* Jewellery beats all other collectibles among India’s super-rich, according to the Top of the Pyramid report released by Kotak Private Banking in association with the financial consultancy Ernst & Young, in March.

* 94% of the 150 ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) surveyed said they invest in jewellery. Art came in second, with interest from 73%. (For the purposes of this survey, UHNI was defined as people with a net worth of $30 million or more.)

* About 7% of UHNI expenses were allocated for foreign travel. On the list of must-have were luxury stays in historic or brag-worthy properties such as castles, chateaux and underwater hotels.

* 20% of UHNIs surveyed were either planning to or were in the process of moving to another country while retaining their Indian citizenship. About 65% of these were aiming for the US, with another 32% aiming for the UK.

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Meanwhile… at the other end of the spectrum

37.9%

of households in India own a refrigerator

23.7%

own an air conditioner or cooler

18%

own a washing machine

According to the India National Family Health Survey 5 (2019-2021), the last year for which such data is available.

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