Vaishyas dominate India’s billionaire class while Dalits and Adivasis are absent

Evidence

Even among these dollar billionaires the distribution of wealth is a steep pyramid in which the cumulative wealth of the top ten outstrips the forty-five below them. Seven out of those top ten are Vaishyas, all of them CEOs of major corporations with business interests all over the world. Between them they own and operate ports, mines, oilfields, gas fields, shipping companies, pharmaceutical companies, telephone networks, petrochemical plants, aluminium plants, cellphone networks, television channels, fresh food outlets, high schools, film production companies, stem cell storage systems, electricity supply networks and Special Economic Zones. … There are no Dalits or Adivasis in this list. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 57

Categorization

• SHARE: A specific, checkable fact about caste and Indian billionaires — good for a person working on Indian political economy or caste studies.