India’s growth story is fuelling affluence, with the number of millionaire households almost doubling in four years, according to the Mercedes-Benz Hurun India Wealth report 2025.
According to the joint study, India now has 8.71 lakh millionaire households, with net worth over $1 million, compared to 4.58 lakh in 2021– which is a jump of 90 per cent. These households account for 0.31 per cent of Indian households as against 0.17 per cent in 2021.
The study finds that among the states, Maharashtra is the wealthiest in the country with 1.78 lakh millionaire households. The state registered a growth of 194 per cent in the number since 2021.
Mumbai is India’s ‘millionaire capital’– no brownie points for correct guess– with the Maximum City alone accounting for 1.42 lakh millionaire households. As per the report, national capital Delhi grabs the second spot in the pecking order with 79,800 households, followed by Tamil Nadu at 72,600 and Karnataka at 68,800.
The report introduces the Mercedes-Benz Hurun India Index (MBHX). It uses GDP growth, Sensex performance, billionaire additions, and Mercedes-Benz sales into a composite measure of wealth creation. The index surged nearly 200 per cent since 2017, underlining the resilience of India’s affluent economy even amid global uncertainties in the face of rising protectionism and geopolitical tensions.
“India’s growth story underscores the resilience and transformation of the economy, driven by a burgeoning domestic market and soaring aspiration of today’s young generation, “said Santosh Iyer, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India.
Many millionaires, few billionaires
However, the study finds that while the affluence is broadening, the leap to the billionaire status still remains rare. Between the period 2017 and 2025, the number of households with wealth above $1 million rose 445 per cent. But, only 5 per cent could jump into the league of billionaires or ultra high networth status (wealth above $12 million/rs 100 crore). That is, only 0.01 per cent became billionaires.
Also, India’s 8.71 lakh millionaire households remain modest compared to China’s 51 lakh. Nevertheless, the gap is seen as growth potential. With GDP expected to double in the next decade, India’s millionaire households are projected to cross 1.7–2 million by 2035, the report notes.
Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder & Chief Researcher, Hurun India, said: “In less than a decade, India’s millionaire households have surged by 445 per cent. This is a democratisation of prosperity, even though billionaire status remains highly selective. The best is yet to come.”
