India's Top 100 Billionaires 2026: Sudhir and Samir Mehta, pharma’s power players

TORRENT GROUP, one of India’s leading diversified conglomerates, has evolved far beyond its pharmaceutical roots. One of the country’s oldest pharma players, the group now has presence across power generation and distribution, transmission and storage, city gas, electricals, diagnostics, and sports as well. With revenues exceeding ₹50,000 crore and an estimated valuation of ₹3 lakh crore, the Ahmedabad-based Torrent has grown into a formidable force across sectors. Behind this transformation are second-generation entrepreneurs Sudhir Mehta, chairman emeritus, and his younger brother Samir Mehta, executive chairman of the Torrent Group. Over the past four decades, the brothers have built the group slowly, brick by brick, diversifying from pharmaceuticals into power and subsequently into a range of adjacent businesses. Their wealth has risen sharply alongside the expansion. The brothers reported a combined wealth of ₹1,94,944 crore ($20.47 billion) in 2026, according to Fortune India’s study of India’s Top 100 Billionaires, against ₹1,33,198 crore ($15.53 billion) in 2025. Their story, however, is not one of uninterrupted success, but riddled with painful reversals and strategic bets that took years to pay off. The collapse of the Soviet Union, where Torrent Pharma once generated about 90% of its business, nearly brought the company to its knees. A foray into financial services turned unsuccessful, while in power, its early strategy appeared conservative at a time when rivals were making aggressive bets on greenfield expansion. Still, the brothers persevered. By FY17, Torrent Pharma was generating revenues of around ₹5,857 crore, while Torrent Power had crossed ₹10,000 crore. Those businesses have since expanded several-fold. Torrent Pharma reported revenues of ₹13,980 crore in FY26, while Torrent Power clocked in ₹28,966 crore. All this while, the brothers were laying the groundwork for Torrent to shift into a faster growth trajectory while preparing for a transition. In recent years, it is not just the scale of the businesses that has changed, but the pace at which the Mehtas are deploying capital, entering adjacent sectors, and positioning the ₹50,000-crore-plus group for its next phase. The group is looking at revenues of ₹1 lakh crore and a 2x increase in profits (from ₹4,608 crore reported by its two listed companies in FY26) over the next five years. Samir and Sudhir Mehta’s sons — Aman and Shaan, and Varun and Jinal who are now operationally in charge — are steering the group through its next phase. While Aman is MD of Torrent Pharma, Shaan is the head of strategic planning. Varun, who spearheads strategy and new ventures, is also the director of Torrent Power. He oversees Torrent Power’s distribution businesses across Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Dahej, Dholera, and Daman, besides supervising the company’s transmission business as well. Jinal, meanwhile, is the MD of Torrent Power and also oversees Torrent Gas. The new Torrent The current speed and scale of capital deployment mark a significant change from the Torrent of a decade ago. The group has continued to strengthen margins, generate cash, and maintain liquidity while simultaneously pursuing large acquisitions. In FY26 alone, the group saw three major transactions with a cumulative enterprise valuation of around ₹42,000 crore: Torrent Pharma’s acquisition of JB Pharma for ₹25,700 crore; Torrent Power’s buyout of Nabha Power for ₹6,900 crore, and a majority stake in Gujarat Titans, at around ₹9,500 crore, through Torrent Investments. “Our approach remains anchored in a balance of organic and inorganic growth through disciplined capital deployment, with a focus on strengthening our competitive position and creating sustainable long-term value for stakeholders,” says Samir Mehta. And that balance is at the heart of the Mehtas’ strategy. The group is deploying capital aggressively, but selectively, seeking businesses with resilient cash flows, strong market positions, and structural growth opportunities. Torrent pharma is a clear beneficiary of that discipline. India’s fifth-largest pharma company made its first major acquisition in 2005 when it bought Heumann Pharma, Pfizer’s generic business in Germany. It was followed by Elder Pharma’s branded formulations business in India and Nepal; Unichem’s India and Nepal businesses and Sikkim manufacturing facility; Novartis’ women healthcare brands; U.S.-based Bio-Pharm Inc. and Curatio Healthcare, and products from Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories. The philosophy was consistent: to buy businesses that could be integrated into Torrent’s existing strengths rather than chase size for its own sake. Curatio Healthcare, for instance, has delivered more than 25% CAGR since its acquisition in FY23, strengthening Torrent’s position in the high-growth dermatology segment. The same strategy is visible in the group’s recent and largest pharmaceutical transaction. In FY26, Torrent Pharma completed the acquisition of JB Pharma at an enterprise valuation of ₹25,700 crore. The deal strengthened Torrent’s position in the branded pharmaceuticals segment, while expanding its exposure to attractive therapies. The company has been developing organic growth engines as well. The launch of oral and injectable semaglutide in India helped the company reportedly achieve a 38% market share, making it one of Torrent Pharma’s most successful launches. Its branded business contributes 75% to its overall revenues and delivers double-digit growth across geographies it operates in. The company has also expanded its global footprint, retaining its No.1 position among Indian pharmaceutical companies in the large and strategically important markets of Brazil and Germany. If pharmaceuticals created the original platform, power became Torrent’s second-major growth engine. Torrent Power initially concentrated on distribution and transmission. Over time, it developed a broader portfolio spanning generation, transmission, and distribution, and is now expanding into renewables and storage. Operational efficiency has been the company’s defining strength. Better fuel management, regulated businesses, contracted revenues, and long-term returns have helped Torrent Power generate relatively predictable cash flows, while improving the quality of earnings. The business, with just ₹10,000 crore in revenues in FY17, nearly tripled to ₹28,966 crore in FY26. Burgeoning war chest The ambition, meanwhile, is far larger. The group plans to invest more than ₹60,000 crore in power and related businesses over the next eight years. Its strategy extends beyond conventional generation into renewable energy, thermal power, pumped hydro, energy storage, and green hydrogen. The Mehtas describe the strategy as building a portfolio of “regulated, contracted, and operationally efficient businesses that generate resilient cash flows”. Torrent's diversification continued with its entry into city gas distribution in 2018. With revenues growing at a three-year CAGR of 37%, and PAT growing 2x, Torrent Gas has become one of India’s Top 5 city gas distribution companies. It has a ready-to-use asset base of around ₹6,700 crore and peak sales exceeding 3.3 million standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD). The company is also the country’s largest off-taker of compressed biogas. The evolution of the business — from infrastructure development to scaled operations and dividends — is typical of the Mehta approach. The group builds a platform, scales it and seeks to turn it into a sustainable cash-generating business. The group is now moving into businesses that would have seemed peripheral to its traditional operations a decade ago. Hospitals, diagnostics, electricals, and sports are being added to a portfolio that already spans pharmaceuticals, power, and gas. At the same time, it is investing in renewables, pumped hydro, energy storage and green hydrogen. But the diversification is not random. The group is looking at sectors where it sees structural growth, and where its capital and operating capabilities can create scalable platforms. In electricals, for instance, it is seeking to transform its cable business into a much larger electrical consumer-products business. Healthcare is expanding beyond pharma into hospitals and diagnostics. Energy is moving beyond conventional power into renewables, storage and green technologies. Sports has emerged as an entirely new asset class following Torrent Investments’ acquisition of a majority stake in Gujarat Titans. The transformation, in tune with the changing needs of India’s energy and healthcare sectors and diversification into new areas, is powering Torrent Group into a new future, led by its third generation, and aptly mentored by the second. The Mehta brothers had given the next generation the option of pursuing a different career. But all four decided to join Torrent. Both Samir and Sudhir Mehta also sought their opinion on splitting the group for the future. All of them said no. “The next generation wanted to maintain the family unity that Sudhir bhai and I have built over the years,’’ says Samir Mehta.

India's Top 100 Billionaires 2026: Sudhir and Samir Mehta, pharma’s power players

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