Indian-origin entrepreneurs continue to make a strong mark on the American business landscape, with India emerging as the largest source of immigrant billionaires in the United States, according to Forbes’ 2026 ranking.
The Forbes list includes 144 billionaires who were born outside the United States, with their combined wealth estimated at $2.2 trillion. India leads the list by country of birth with 19 billionaires, followed by Israel and Taiwan with 11 each. China has nine, while Canada has eight.
The number of Indian-born billionaires has also increased significantly from 12 in 2025 to 19 in 2026. Several new entrants built their fortunes primarily through technology, venture capital and semiconductors.
Among the new names is Hemant Taneja, CEO of venture capital firm General Catalyst. Born in Delhi, Taneja moved to the US at the age of 15 and later studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Forbes estimates his net worth at around $3.6 billion as of September 8, 2026.
Taneja has backed several major technology companies, including Stripe, Snap, Anduril, Grammarly and Gusto. His investments in artificial intelligence and other technology sectors have contributed to his growing wealth.
Another new entrant is Shyam Sankar, chief technology officer of defence technology company Palantir. Forbes lists Sankar at No. 156 among America's most successful living immigrants and identifies him as India-born.
The 2026 list also includes Sanjay Gajendra and Jitendra Mohan, co-founders of semiconductor company Astera Labs. Their success highlights the growing role of Indian-origin entrepreneurs in America's semiconductor and artificial-intelligence ecosystem.
Among established Indian-origin billionaires, Vinod Khosla remains the richest Indian-born name on the immigrant-billionaire list, with an estimated fortune of about $13.9 billion. The Sun Microsystems co-founder is ranked 13th among America's richest immigrant billionaires.
Other prominent Indian-origin names include Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google; Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft; Jay Chaudhry, founder of Zscaler; and entrepreneur Romesh Wadhwani.
Despite India's lead in the number of immigrant billionaires, none of the 19 India-born billionaires appears in Forbes' top 10 richest immigrant billionaires in 2026. The overall ranking is led by Elon Musk, followed by Sergey Brin and Jensen Huang.
The figures underline the significant role of immigration in the US technology and business ecosystem, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, software, venture capital and semiconductors.
