Rakesh Gangwal, co-founder of India’s largest airline IndiGo and Chairman of the Southwest Airlines board in the United States, has been ranked 29th on the Forbes ‘America’s Richest Immigrants 2025’ list with a net worth of $6.6 billion. His journey from Kolkata to corporate aviation leadership has earned him global recognition.
Rakesh Gangwal, the billionaire co-founder of IndiGo Airlines operator InterGlobe Aviation and Chairman of the board of Southwest Airlines, has been featured at the 29th position on Forbes’ prestigious ‘America’s Richest Immigrants 2025’ list. He holds a net worth of $6.6 billion as per the ranking published on July 7, 2025.
Gangwal, who was born in 1953 in Kolkata, West Bengal, has become one of the most influential Indian-origin figures in global aviation. He earned his engineering degree from IIT Kanpur in 1975 and later pursued an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
His professional journey began at Ford Motor Co. and Philips India before entering the aviation sector. He joined United Airlines in 1984 and later became CEO of US Airways in 1998. Gangwal co-founded IndiGo in 2006, which was listed in 2015, and was appointed Chairman of Southwest Airlines in November 2024.
According to Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Gangwal’s net worth is pegged even higher at $7.83 billion, thanks largely to his 14% stake in IndiGo’s parent, InterGlobe Aviation. This stake is held both directly and through a trust.
Forbes noted that immigrant billionaires make up 14% of America’s billionaire population in 2025. India topped the contributor list with 12 billionaires, followed by Israel and Taiwan with 11 each. The combined net worth of the 125 billionaire immigrants on the list is $1.3 trillion, accounting for 18% of the country’s total billionaire wealth.
The top five on the Forbes immigrant list include:
- Elon Musk (South Africa) – $393.1 billion
- Sergey Brin (Russia) – $139.7 billion
- Jensen Huang (Taiwan) – $137.9 billion
- Thomas Peterffy (Hungary) – $67.9 billion
- Miriam Adelson & family (Israel) – $33.4 billion
Gangwal’s rise symbolizes the increasing presence and influence of Indian-origin professionals in the global business ecosystem, particularly in the United States.
