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P.Ramakrishnan

Guess what? The richest residents of India do not fly commercial. Around 1,000 VVIPs fly private jets, choppers and glamorous Gulfstreams as they zoom over palaces and capitals around the world. 
According to a leading business magazine, India now has 209 billionaires studded around the country. Luxury cars and homes aside, they enjoy travelling in rarefied bubbles between hearth and heaven. Here’s a look at some of the super jet set. 
‘National asset’? Mukesh Ambani has India’s highest security rating
The Ambanis 


With a net worth of US$81 billion, Mukesh Ambani is the richest man in India and Asia, and as of this moment he is 11th richest person in the world. And we know he knows how to spend it. So naturally the man (and his family) hasn’t seen a commercial plane unless it’s in his eye line as his pilot docks one of the three Ambani jets; the family owns a Boeing Business Jet, Falcon 900EX jet and an Airbus 319, according to media reports.
Of the three, the Boeing Business Jet is the cream of the crop, costing a whopping US$73 million, and is equipped with a private bedroom suite and a plush executive office to match Air Force One. 

He is, of course, not the only Indian tycoon high flyer. The jet set of India includes the usual suspects: politicians, businessmen and Bollywood-ites. Heading the celebrity list is the first family of Bollywood, the Bachchans. 
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The Bachchans 

Indian cinema’s first family, the Bachchans, have been photographed getting in and out of the plushest Gulfsteams, yet they, like other Indian movie stars, have never gone on record to state if they own or rent private planes while hopscotching to and from location shoots. 
The net worth of the Bachchans – which boasts four seasoned actors and superstars – is roughly around US$400 million, according to the guesstimates made by leading Indian publishing houses. Sure, they can afford one, but at a time when Bollywood is on pandemic pause and going through unprecedented struggles and losses, now isn’t the time for ostentatious or braggadocious behaviour! 
 What kind of life will baby Prithvi Akash Ambani lead?
Lakshmi Mittal 


Steel magnate and London-based billionaire Lakshmi Mittal on the other hand, with a net worth of US$15.4 billion, has no qualms about hopping in and out of his Gulfstream G550. 

The jet costs US$38 million, but it’s the extraneous costs that might start to get annoying. Between varying fuel expenses and flight crew salaries, to landing and parking fees in international airport hangers, every minute of owning the “luxurious palace on wheels” adds up – before even taking a trip, Mittal is bleeding around US$2.9 million annually just to keep the thing parked, according to widely shared sums.
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Akshay Kumar 

Akshay Kumar made headlines not long ago when he donated around US$3.4 million to the PM Cares Fund to fight the coronavirus. However he might not be too worried about contracting Covid-19 himself, despite the fact he travels a lot – because he isn’t likely to be flying with any other uninvited passengers. Kumar has long been spotted flitting around India by private jet – in fact we wonder if he can remember his last trip on a commercial airline.
Growing up Ambani: How Mukesh and Nita raised their children to understand what life is like for the rest of us
The Poonawallas 

With a health crisis searing through the global economy, pharmaceutical entrepreneur Cyrus Poonawalla and his family have made some serious cash over the last quarter. The founder of the Serum Institute of India (where son Adar serves as CEO), Poonawalla’s company has supplied huge quantities of Covishield in India and globally, a vaccine developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca. His net worth is around US$11.5 billion, and while he hasn’t been seen in the international circuit, his glamorous wife Natasha Poonawala has been spotted travelling to The Met Gala, Cannes and Milan Fashion Week on their family Airbus A320. 
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Nita Ambani and the interior of the Boeing Business Jet. Photo: @nitaambaniii/Instagram, Jet Aviation

The push interior of a Boeing Business Jet. Photo: Jet Aviation

Jaya Bachchan, son Abhishek and patriarch Amitabh. Photo: @bachchan/Instagram

The Gulfstream G550 costs US$38 million. Photo: Gulfstream Aerospace

Akshay Kumar with actress Vaani Kapoor about to jump in a jet after wrapping up a film. Photo: @akshaykumar/Twitter

Natasha Poonawala with Hong Kong socialite Deborah Hung as they jet off to attend a couture week. As you do. Photo: @natasha.poonawalla/Instagram

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Azim Premji. Photo: @goskribe/Twitter

Shiv Nadar. Photo: @biotheses/Instagram

Mukesh Ambani. Photo: @mukesh.ambaniii/Instagram

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When explosives were found outside the Ambani family home in Mumbai, it set off a chain of strange events that prove the family’s high level security is justified. Photos: @antiliahouse, @nitaambaniii/ Instagram

Antilia, the house of the Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, stands tall in the heart of south Mumbai. Photo: Reuters

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Nita and Isha Ambani have always been close. Photo: @_ishaambanis/Instagram

Nita and Isha Ambani. Photo: @ishaambaniii/Instagram

Isha and Nita Ambani. Photo: @ishaambaniii/Instagram

The Ambanis, from left to right: Akash, Anant, Isha, Nita and Mukesh. Photo: Reuters

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Mukesh Ambani owns at least three private planes, including a US$73 million Boeing Business Jet, while Lakshmi Mittal spends millions every year on his Gulfstream
Bollywood’s Bachchans and Akshay Kumar are regularly spotted jumping out of private jets, as is Natasha Poonawala, but who rents and who owns their wings?


Mukesh Ambani owns at least three private jets including a US$73 million Boeing – but out of the other 200 billionaires in India, who else is flying in style?
