Kiran Mazumdar Shaw only Indian woman in self-made billionaires list

MUMBAI: Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the only Indian to feature in a self-made women billionaires' list compiled by Chinese research firm Hurun Global.

Shaw, 63, ranked 36 in a list of 78 women. Her net worth, according to the list, rose 90% to $1.9 billion (Rs 12,700 crore) in 2017.

The list was different from a larger one which included billionaires who had also inherited their wealth. Of the top twenty richest women in the world, only two are self-made, with the rest inherited, said the report.

Trained as a brewer--her father's profession--Shaw started her carrier with Carlton and United Breweries, Melbourne and then joined Biocon Biochemicals in Ireland.

She started Biocon India in 1978 in the garage of her rented house in Bengaluru with a seed capital of Rs. 10,000. It is now India's largest biochemical company with an annual revenue of over Rs 3,500 crore.

Chinese realtor Chen Lihua topped the self-made women billionaires list with a net worth of $7.2 billion. She was followed by Zhou Qunfei, founder of Chinese major touchscreen maker Lens Technology and English billionaire Tina Green.

China has the most number of self-made women billionaires at 56, followed by USA at 15, the report said.