New Delhi - India's billionaires' club almost doubled from 27 in 2008 to 52 in 2009 largely due to a rebounding stock market and economic growth of 6 per cent, Forbes Asia said.

Mukesh Ambani, chief of Reliance Industries Limited, remained India's wealthiest person with a fortune of 32 billion dollars, while Lakshmi Mittal, chief executive officer of Arcelor Mittal SA, came second with 30 billion dollars, according to Forbes' India rich list.

Mukesh Ambani's younger brother, Anil Ambani, was ranked third with a net worth of 17.5 billion dollars.

The combined fortune of India's 100 richest was 276 billion dollars, Forbes Asia said, adding that this accounted for about one-quarter of the country's gross domestic product.

While the net worth of India's 100 richest people was well below the total worth of 775 billion dollars for the 100 richest Americans, it was ahead of the net worth of China's wealthiest, although the latter boasted a larger number of billionaires, Forbes said.

Mukesh Ambani's 32-billion-dollar fortune was five times that of the 5.8 billion dollar net worth of BYD Company Limited's Wang Chuanfu, China's richest citizen, Forbes added.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's key index, the 30-share Sensex, has rallied 76 per cent in 2009 as stocks rebounded on signs that the worst of the global economic slowdown may be over. The index fell by 52 per cent in 2008.

India's industrial production grew by 6.5 per cent in September year-on-year and the government recently projected growth of over 7 per cent in the 2010-11 financial year compared with the current fiscal year. (dpa)