How successors powered 6.7x growth of Indian family businesses

The top 50 successor-led companies, helmed by 63 leaders with an average age of 42 years, have collectively grown their firms’ market capitalisation from Rs 4.6 lakh crore in March 2020 to Rs 30.9 lakh crore by March 2026—a 6.7x increase. The finding is part of the 2026 ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Successors 50 study.

The report, by entrepreneurship research firm Hurun India and wealth management firm ASK Private Wealth, evaluated firms with a market cap of over Rs 5,000 crore and ranked next-generation business leaders on the growth multiple achieved by their organisations between March 2020 and March 2026.

What’s interesting is that the top 50 companies’ combined market capitalisation of Rs 30.9 lakh crore now represents nearly 9.5 per cent of India’s GDP. What is also notable is that these firms have a combined revenue of Rs 8,20,015 crore and net profits of Rs 90,168 crore. These 50 successor-led enterprises are growing revenue at an average of 14.4 per cent year on year, employ over 860,000 people and spend Rs 1,028 crore on CSR.

Explaining the significance of these findings, Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher at Hurun India, notes that India is on the cusp of the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in its history, as founders who built post-liberalisation businesses begin handing over control. “Over the coming decade, an estimated $2 trillion in family business value will pass from founders to their successors, making the next generation arguably the most consequential cohort in Indian capitalism today,” he says.

THE BIG WINNERS

So, what separates these successors from those who have not created value? According to Nupur Pavan Bang, founder and chief family business navigator at Bodhi Advisory & Nurturing Group, the biggest difference lies in the succession process itself. “Sometimes the next generation does not want to join the family business, but family patriarchs are reluctant to bring in professional leadership and insist on family members at the helm,” says Bang.

“When succession is driven by obligation rather than capability, it usually leads to erosion of value. What separates the firms on this list is that leadership transition was treated as a deliberate, structured process, with long-term mentoring and capability development, not as something that would sort itself out,” she says.

One of the most widely cited studies in family business literature is by John Ward in the 1980s, which found that only 3 per cent of family businesses survive beyond the third generation. However, that research was based on a specific region and manufacturing sector whereas India’s family business landscape is far more diverse. In fact, half of the top 10 companies in this list are already in their third generation, indicating strong performance.

In the top 50 successor-led companies, 46 per cent (29 individuals) are second-generation leaders followed by 32 per cent (20 individuals) from the third generation. Fourth-generation leaders include Amit Dahanukar at Tilaknagar Industries (93 years old, 52.5 growth) and Sudarshan Venu at TVS Motor Company (10.5 growth).

The success is also a function of the long tenure of these leaders. The average tenure across the top 50 is approximately 18 years, indicating that they are not young scions who were handed leadership roles immediately but individuals who have undergone years of grooming, training and capability building within their organisations.

WOMEN SUCCESSORS

Another quiet but significant trend is the presence of 10 women successors across nine companies. Rama Kirloskar, a fifth-generation leader at Kirloskar Brothers, ranks 36th and tops the women’s list with a 17.7 growth multiple at one of India’s oldest industrial enterprises. Soumya Chava of Laurus Labs has grown the company’s market cap by 16.2 while Avarna Jain of Saregama India has achieved a 14.8 increase, making them the top three.

This marks a significant shift in family businesses, where daughters are increasingly being included in succession planning. “Earlier, succession conversations in family businesses were centred almost exclusively around sons. The presence of 10 women across nine companies on this list, with strong growth multiples, should put that assumption to rest,” says Bang.

She adds, however, that this trend is still more visible in larger, more professionally governed family firms. In smaller family businesses, women may not receive the same access to mentoring, operational exposure or grooming that their male counterparts do.

What this also indicates is that family businesses are widening their talent pool by including women in leadership pipelines and prioritising capability over gender. “This effectively doubles the talent pool, increasing the chances of success in the next generation,” explains Bang.

*Successors who created the highest market capilatisation

Source: 2026 ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Successors 50 List

Subscribe to India Today Magazine