India’s richest woman, Savitri Jindal, added a staggering $846 million to her fortune on Monday, following a strong rally in the shares of Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL), boosting her real-time net worth to $37.1 billion.
The 74-year-old business magnate and chairperson of the Jindal Group now ranks 40th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, reinforcing her status as one of the world’s wealthiest women. The Jindal Group is a vast industrial empire with interests spanning steel, power, cement, ports, and infrastructure.
JSPL shares rose by 2.47% to close at ₹903.50, driven by investor optimism over government-led infrastructure investments and strong performance forecasts. The company, managed by her son Naveen Jindal, is India’s third-largest private steel producer by volume and the country’s only private manufacturer of railway tracks.
The share price surge reflects growing market confidence in JSPL, particularly after Naveen Jindal’s recent defection from the Indian National Congress to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Analysts believe his new political alignment could create strategic advantages, especially with the government’s focus on railway expansion and infrastructure development.
Savitri Jindal inherited the group after her husband, Om Prakash Jindal, died in a helicopter crash in 2005. Following his passing, the empire was divided among their four sons. While she no longer oversees daily operations, she remains the matriarch and symbolic head of the Jindal family’s sprawling industrial legacy.
The family’s biggest business unit, the JSW Group, is led by Sajjan Jindal from Mumbai. It includes JSW Steel, one of India’s top steel producers, and ventures into cement, paints, and infrastructure. In 2023, JSW Infrastructure launched a successful IPO, and in March 2024, the group entered the electric vehicle sector via a joint venture with British automaker MG Motor.
Jindal’s $846 million single-day gain highlights both her enduring influence and the robust health of the companies her family operates. Despite stepping back from active management, her wealth remains closely linked to the performance of the Jindal Group’s public companies — and Monday’s market activity reaffirms her standing as a formidable figure in Asia’s corporate landscape.
