Birla family
The family's trading business traces to 1857 in Pilani, Rajasthan; Ghanshyam Das ('G.D.') Birla later transformed it into an industrial house, opening cotton and jute mills through the early 20th century while also financing Mahatma Gandhi's independence movement.
How the fortune was built
G.D. Birla diversified into cement and chemicals and launched Hindalco Industries in 1958. After a broader Birla family split in the 1980s–90s, grandson Aditya Vikram Birla built an international 'Aditya Birla Group' across Southeast Asia; following his early death in 1995, son Kumar Mangalam Birla took over at 28 and has since led 60-plus acquisitions, growing group revenue roughly thirtyfold to about $67 billion across cement, metals, financial services, fashion retail, chemicals, and telecom.
Where the family invests today
Core vehicles today are UltraTech Cement (India's largest cement maker), Aditya Birla Capital, and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail. Kumar Mangalam Birla returned as executive chairman of debt-laden Vodafone Idea in 2024–25 and led a large capital infusion, making the group its dominant promoter shareholder — a turnaround bet on India's third-largest mobile carrier. The group is also expanding into paints and digital/B2B commerce; there is no separate named external family office.
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