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Most immigrant billionaires in US are Indian-origin. Meet the new entrants

New Indian-origin entrants to the list have largely made their fortunes in technology.

Updated on: Sep 8, 2026, 15:14:50 IST
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India is the largest source of immigrant billionaires in the United States, with 19 Indian-origin business leaders finding their way in Forbes’ list of the richest foreign-born citizens living in America.

Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar (L) and venture capitalist Hemant Taneja (R) were added to the list of immigrant billionaires in the US in 2026.
Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar (L) and venture capitalist Hemant Taneja (R) were added to the list of immigrant billionaires in the US in 2026.

In 2026, seven new Indian-American billionaires were added to the list, including venture capitalist Hemant Taneja, Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar and the founders of semiconductor firm Astera Labs.

Following India on the list are Israel, Taiwan and China.

Meet the Indian-origin billionaires in US

Sun Microsystems founder Vinod Khosla was the richest Indian-origin billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $13.9 billion. Khosla was listed as the 13th richest immigrant billionaire, behind Tesla founder Elon Musk - who topped the list - and Google founder Sergey Brin.

Cybersecurity giant Zscaler’s chief executive Jay Chaudhury, Indigo Airlines co-founder Rakesh Gangwal and software tycoon Romesh Wadhwani were featured among the top 100 richest immigrant founders.

New Indian-origin entrants to the list have largely made their fortunes in technology. Venture capitalist Hemant Taneja, who leads Silicon Valley heavyweight General Catalyst, saw his net worth rise to $3.6 billion on the back of the firm’s lucrative investments in artificial intelligence boom, including in leading firm Anthropic.

Major Trump donor Shyam Sankar also made it to the list given his role as tech firm Palantir’s chief technology office. Palantir has drawn increased controversy given the firm’s close ties with the Trump administration and its involvement in controversial projects related immigration enforcement.

Pakistan-born Shahid Khan also features on the list at the 12th spot, with much of his $14.9 billion fortune coming from his ownership of major sports franchises like the Jacksonville Jaguars of America’s National Football League and Premier League football club Fulham F.C.

According to Forbes, a record 144 immigrant billionaires on the list in 2026 were worth a combined $2.2 trillion compared to 125 billionaires worth $1.3 trillion in 2025.

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shashank Mattoo

Shashank Mattoo is the Washington DC-based US Correspondent for Hindustan Times. Shashank covers the Trump administration, the India-US relationship and America's policies towards South Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific.

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