Deepinder Goyal tops Hurun list, surpasses DMart’s Damani as India’s top self-made entrepreneur

MUMBAI: If money talks, India’s newest fortunes are shouting, and they’re speaking startup. From food delivery apps to discount supermarkets and low-cost airlines, India’s most valuable new-age companies are rewriting the rules of wealth, power and ambition, according to the latest IDFC First Private & Hurun India Top 200 Self-Made Entrepreneurs of the Millennia 2025 list.

For the first time since the ranking began, Deepinder Goyal, founder of food-tech giant Eternal, has knocked Radhakishan Damani of DMart off the top perch. Goyal’s company surged 27 per cent year-on-year to a valuation of Rs 3.2 lakh crore, making him India’s most valuable self-made entrepreneur of the millennium, defined as companies founded after 2000.

Damani, last year’s No. 1, slips to second place with Avenue Supermarts valued at Rs 3 lakh crore, down 13 per cent, while aviation heavyweights Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal make a turbocharged debut straight into the top 3, with InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) clocking a valuation of Rs 2.2 lakh crore.

A Rs 42-lakh-crore story, and counting

Zoom out, and the scale is staggering. The combined value of all 200 companies on the list now stands at Rs 42 lakh crore ($469 billion), up from Rs 36 lakh crore last year, a 15 per cent jump in just twelve months. To put that into perspective, this cohort alone is now worth roughly a quarter of India’s 300 most valuable family businesses, despite being, on average, less than 25 years old.

The 2025 edition also welcomes 102 new founders and 53 new companies, pushing the count of billion-dollar companies to 128, up from 121 a year ago. Five firms are now valued at over Rs 1 lakh crore, compared with just three last year, a sign that India’s startup era is no longer just about speed, but scale.

Who’s rising, who’s slipping

Tech-led consumer brands are clearly having their moment. Paytm vaults 67 per cent to Rs 72,900 crore, while Lenskart jumps 60 per cent to Rs 67,000 crore, both entering the Top 10. At the same time, fintech darlings Razorpay and Zerodha drop out of the elite bracket, signalling a shift in the pecking order.

Among the biggest gainers by sheer value, Eternal added Rs 68,800 crore in a single year, followed by Groww (up Rs 37,100 crore) and Anthem Biosciences (up Rs 33,100 crore). By percentage growth, Anthem stole the show, rocketing 273 per cent after listing.

The fastest climber up the ranks was Vinay Sanghi’s CarTrade Tech, which leapt 88 places to reach a valuation of Rs 11,700 crore, closely followed by Jumbotail and Vivriti Capital.

Young guns, old hands

India’s wealth story is no longer age-bound. The youngest founders on the list are Kaivalya Vohra (22) and Aadit Palicha (23) of Zepto, whose quick-commerce venture is valued at Rs 52,400 crore. At the other end of the spectrum, Ashok Soota of Happiest Minds, aged 82, proves experience still counts.

The average age of founders is 48, highlighting a rare mix of Gen-Z risk-takers and seasoned dealmakers shaping India’s business future.

Where the action is

Bengaluru retains its crown as India’s startup capital with 52 headquartered companies and 88 resident founders, though Mumbai is closing in with 41 companies and 83 entrepreneurs. Gurugram, home to Eternal, Swiggy and MakeMyTrip, hosts 36 companies, underlining NCR’s growing dominance in consumer tech and fintech.

Sector-wise, financial services still lead with 47 companies, but software and services showed the fastest growth, adding five new entrants to reach 28. Healthcare follows closely with 27, while retail slips slightly to 20.

Jobs, taxes and the wider economy

Beyond valuations, these companies employ around eight lakh people, roughly the population of Fiji, and collectively paid Rs 8,030 crore in direct taxes, nearly double last year’s figure. Employee benefits rose to Rs 57,200 crore, underlining how scale is translating into broader economic impact.

Avenue Supermarts tops the employment chart with 90,280 staff, followed by InterGlobe Aviation (42,887) and Jana Small Finance Bank (25,381).

The bar keeps rising

Entry into India’s self-made elite is getting tougher by the year. The minimum valuation to feature in the Top 200 has jumped 26 per cent to Rs 4,300 crore, while cracking the Top 10 now requires Rs 67,000 crore, up from Rs 56,600 crore last year.

In short, India’s millennial entrepreneurs are no longer just disrupting markets, they’re defining them. And if this year’s numbers are anything to go by, the loudest sound in India’s economy isn’t legacy money whispering, but self-made wealth roaring.