Savitri Jindal, matriarch of the sprawling Jindal industrial empire and India’s richest woman, saw her net worth jump by $846 million on Monday, following a rally in shares of Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
The gain brings her real-time net worth to $37.1 billion, securing her the 40th spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Jindal, 74, chairs the Jindal Group, a diversified conglomerate with interests in steel, power, cement, ports, and infrastructure.
The group was founded by her late husband, Om Prakash Jindal, who died in a helicopter crash in 2005. Following his death, the empire was split among the couple’s four sons, each now managing separate arms of the business.
The biggest portion of the family fortune is now overseen by her son Sajjan Jindal, based in Mumbai. He heads JSW Group, which includes JSW Steel — one of India’s top steel producers as well as JSW Cement and JSW Paints.
Some context
In 2023, Sajjan led the successful initial public offering of JSW Infrastructure, the group’s ports and logistics arm. More recently, in March 2024, he launched a new joint venture with British automaker MG Motor to produce electric vehicles, further signaling the group’s ambition in future-facing industries.
Meanwhile, her younger son, Naveen Jindal, manages New Delhi-based JSPL, which has been at the forefront of Monday’s market movement. Shares of JSPL rose 2.47% to close at ₹903.50, driven by investor confidence in the company’s performance and optimism about government-led infrastructure expansion.
JSPL is currently the third-largest private steel producer in India by tonnage and remains the only private company in the country capable of manufacturing railway tracks.
What to know
JSPL, founded in 1979 and headquartered in New Delhi, is India’s third-largest private steel producer by volume and the only private manufacturer of rail tracks in the country. It reported revenue of ₹501.8 billion (approximately $6.3 billion) in 2024 and employs nearly 6,000 people.
The recent political shift by Naveen Jindal, who resigned from the Indian National Congress and joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in March, has also drawn attention. Analysts speculate that his new political alignment could create favorable tailwinds for JSPL, particularly amid government plans to expand railway and infrastructure investment.
While Savitri Jindal no longer plays an active role in day-to-day operations, she remains the symbolic head of the Jindal dynasty and a key figure in the family’s wealth management.
Her personal fortune is directly tied to the performance of the group’s listed companies, and Monday’s gains show the strength of the businesses her late husband built and her sons continue to expand.
