Its raining money on three Indian women Vanisha Mittal daughter of Lakshmi Mittal, Isha Ambani daughter of Mukesh Ambani and Pia Singh daughter of K.P.Singh are the top three on the Forbes list of worlds wealthiest inheritors! That they happen to be women is only a happy coincidence..or is it pre ordained? Bravo to the fathers who discarded all bias of sons vs daughters thereby morally, legally, ethically proving a glaring point. On a lighter note..”kudiyon ka hai zamaana”..
An aside.. will this prove to be a deterrent for the female infanticide obsessed India ? Am I jumping the gun here in hoping that perhaps this is a sign from the Almighty to STOP this debauchery or will this have no telling on insouciant mindsets? Such Hypocrisy. While we worship Mother Goddess Lakshmi as the harbinger of wealth, prosperity, abundance, a female manifeststion as daughter or wife is reason to be aborted or charred to death. How can they imagine that the Goddess would shower here benevolence on such ignorant minds?
Breathing deeply…pause..Getting back on track..
No. 1 on the list of the US business magazine is Vanisha Mittal Bhatia, daughter of Lakshmi Mittal, the fourth-richest person in the world as of March last.
Perhaps best known for the $60 million wedding her father threw for her in 2004, she now serves as a director on the board of dad’s $103 billion (market cap) steel company, ArcelorMittal.
Second on the Forbes list is Isha Ambani, the only daughter of Mukesh Ambani, an Indian billionaire ranked fifth in the world. She is just a teenager but already has her own stake in the family’s Reliance Industries, worth about $80 million, notes the magazine.
Ranked third in the heiresses is Indian realty baron K.P. Singh’s daughter Pia Singh. She already holds a stake worth USD 400 million in the country’s biggest real estate firm.
Why do my instincts tell me that male readers are eying them (not necessarily lasciviously) but with a hope in their hearts and a smile on their lips. I dont blame ya fellas. Not only are these lasses pretty (btw the Mittal one is already taken) but maverick, dignified and wealthy to boot.
There was a time I luxuriated in reading Richie Rich comics, remember the poor little rich boy who was obscenely wealthy? I bemusedly , page after age soaked in the talent of the writers as they conjured up totally fantabulous ways in which to depict incalculable wealth, ( safe vault, brimming over, was so huge that it needed to be embedded in a mountain at the back of their home) simultaneously exposing his loneliness and lack of peers to enjoy it with. But try as I may, sympathy was one emotion that never ever made its presence felt. All I kept thinking was what would it mean to be this rich or in fact would it mean anything at all once you were!
Which is what fascinates me with this lot. They come across as those who have been blessed but definitely not spoilt. There is a certain down to earthed-ness at play here.No Paris Hilton airs or purrs. Thank God for that or rather must credit their parents for making them ‘real’ people.
Going by Bollywood stereotypes a decade or two ago, depiction usually amounted to caricatures where ostentatious display of jewellery, hoity toity bearings and snobbery overwpoweringly obvious from a mile away, was the signature classification of a ‘rich woman’. What has taken over today is a sense of self where personal achievement rules over any false artifice of grandeur.
Clearly wealth whispers,nouveau riche money.. shouts. This is so heartening. Imagine how terrible it might have been to be fed on media reports of any of them having gone awry, berserk in the luxuries that were their right but which lent only into meaningless lives, empty goals, bereft of higher thinking or value orientation. Indianness has truly I think delivered them from ruins. We are as yet a nation quite hopelessly impecunious,where riches/wealth for the ordinary citizen is a new phenomenon. Our spiritualistic groundings therefore providing the necessary mooring in tumultous seas of limitless opportunity preventing a drift ..soullessly.
You go girls!! Show the world what Indian women are all about..Exemplify the virtuosity of our scriptures, where wealth was at best a facilitator and enabler.. a means to an end not the end by itself, where family and its harmonious support paramount, love, grace dignity the embodiments of an Indian woman..hopefully erasing frightful memories of stories that link India with dowry deaths and female infanticide.
Meanwhile..lets just say.. Indians rock!!
Sachiniti 
My my..I sulked with my mom today when i read out this post to her. later I felt guilty. Money maybe not all but i confess it s a lot meaning importance wise. And yeah these three look pretty grounded.
Comment by Neha — September 3, 2008 @ 8:27 am |
Youve inherited a lot more that is real valuable neha..values and principles..give your mum a hug for that.
I saw warren buffet and bill gates in a talk show. Their humility and straightforwardness is so winning. They have left a trust for their kids and are leaving the rest for charity. These to are something else.Epitome of what humans should be.
Comment by Kaveetaa Kaul — September 3, 2008 @ 10:05 am |
Kaveetta, I totally agree. I read somewhere that the same week that Mittal threw the $60 million wedding, a 10 year old girl in his hometown in India committed suicide because her mom could not afford to give her one rupee she asked for. Think about it! I see the same vulgar expressions of wealth by Indians in the US also. They should learn from the likes of Buffett and Gates.
Comment by Jake — January 7, 2012 @ 10:35 pm |
“What has taken over today is a sense of self where personal achievement rules over any false artifice of grandeur.”
Nice!!! well said.
Comment by Manasi — September 3, 2008 @ 3:16 pm |
[…] Isha Ambani daughter of Mukesh Ambani one of the top three Indian women to be on the Forbes list Of worlds wealthiest Inheritors..read here. […]
Pingback by Mukesh Ambani Gifts Wife Nita- 242 CR Jet!! Srk Gifts Farah A Merc!! « Sachiniti — September 4, 2008 @ 8:29 am |
Daughters are considered to be ‘Lakshmi ka roop’.I have two and am delighted.Ever since their births I have enjoyed only a climb in my career. I wont deny the wish for a son which we have now but to even imagine that we would not distribute our property equally is inconceivable. Though my wife does complain since she wasnt given a penny of her fathers wealth. But we have to better our parents.
Comment by Dilip — September 4, 2008 @ 9:22 am |
Hi Kaveetaa, wonderful post and a nice revelation about the rich and mighty. I believe money brings more responsibility. Our rich and famous too need to learn a lot from people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Our billionaires do not indulge in that kind of charity. There is so much to be done in every sphere of our society that even if each one takes up one task the entire country will be transformed. I hope the old trend changes and the new breed of affluent will bring a sense of magnanimity and generosity of spirit.
As such I find gender issues are a phenomenon more with the poor and the middle class, obviously for practical reasons. They look up to a son as an insurance in the old age. As women are becoming more empowered financially, parents too are changing their allegiance and showing their commitment to the fair sex child.
Anjali.
Comment by Anjali — September 4, 2008 @ 10:16 am |
Hi Dilip..So congrats that you have blessed with Riddhi and Siddhi 🙂 I can understand the angst of your wife. my mother too received not any part of her parents property hich was huge. She swallowed it all as a matter of custom and held no basic grudge. It appalled me that parents would be so uncaring to a girl childs feelings. The explanation usually give by parents is ” We have given her a dowry so why more”..My query ” Dont you spend as much if not more on the education of your son?” See its not so much a matter of being avaricious..it is just the discrimination which gets to you.In our case we have already demarcated properties for our children clearly and squarely. besides i think and hope we have brought them up to love each other above all else, irrespective of any material gains or losses…amen.:)
Comment by Kaveetaa Kaul — September 4, 2008 @ 10:33 am |
Hi Anjali..I agree.. the quantum of good even a little of this wealth pie can bring about radical change in the lives of the downtrodden in India. How each one decides to distribute their earnings is so personal really.. that we cannot help but keep away. ideally of course warren Buffet and Bill gates are exemplary and ought to be role models ..but.. then ..
You say ” As such I find gender issues are a phenomenon more with the poor and the middle class, obviously for practical reasons. They look up to a son as an insurance in the old age. As women are becoming more empowered financially, parents too are changing their allegiance and showing their commitment to the fair sex child.”
I thought so too till about a couple of years ago when i was personally witness to the elite, rich, obviously endowed couples opting for female abortions. You must read this link to know just how many Indian couples from Britain return here to abort their girl child.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7123753.stm
It will shock you.
Comment by Kaveetaa Kaul — September 4, 2008 @ 10:38 am |
A Unicef source.
FACTS AND FIGURES
Female infanticide occurs in 80% of Indian states
Worst-affected states include wealthiest areas
927 girls born for every 1,000 boys
Infant mortality rate: 60/1,000
Source: Unicef
Comment by Kaveetaa Kaul — September 4, 2008 @ 10:42 am |
Those figures were realy shocking Kaveeta.
Anjali
Comment by Anjali — September 4, 2008 @ 4:02 pm |
Great post, My Dady don’t have much property I am in my own hand without any other help, Now I have the confident I can lead my life without any other help, I think I am the richest girl than these girls.
Comment by sugitha — October 14, 2008 @ 2:56 pm |
Bravo Sugitha..Thats the spirit..make your own destiny. the world is yours for the asking.
khudi ko kar bulund itna ki har taqdeer se pehle
khuda bande se khud poochhe batha teri reza kya hai..
Samajh me aaya ?
Comment by Kaveetaa Kaul — October 14, 2008 @ 10:06 pm |
she is so lucky that she’s been blessed with a father like hers! wish i still have a father! i envy her not because she’s rich! but because she has a father that can give her all her want and all her needs and also a father whom she can count on all the time.. addicted_gurl15@yahoo.com
Comment by katherine — January 5, 2009 @ 5:16 pm |
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Comment by katherine — January 5, 2009 @ 5:19 pm |
While we are taking on the topic of Indian Women Top Forbes List Of Worlds Wealthiest Inheritors. Sachiniti, “paying it forward.” You have heard of that, haven’t you? If not, do a net search for it and you’ll see what I mean.
Comment by think and grow rich — December 3, 2010 @ 1:20 am |