MU one of the top 10 billionaire-producing varsities in the world

Vikrant Dadawala

According to a survey by Wealth X and Swiss Bank UBS, MU has produced 12 of India’s 100 billionaires.

In a finding that took many by surprise, Mumbai University has been found to rank 9th worldwide in the list of educational institutes that have produced the most number of billionaires, revealed a recent survey by Wealth X and Swiss Bank UBS.

According to the survey, MU has produced 12 of India’s 100 billionaires, ranking it above globally reputed institutes such as MIT, LSE and Columbia University.

MU is the only Asian university to have made it to the top 10.

Wealth X, a Singapore-based wealth management firm, teamed up with Swiss bank UBS to conducted the survey termed Billionaire census -2014, which revealed that Mumbai ranks 11th among cities worldwide and fourth in Asia.

Singapore with 32 billionaires ranks just above Mumbai’s 28, which scores above its Asian competitors including Shanghai (21) and Tokyo (26). Among countries India, with its 100 billionaires, ranks sixth worldwide.

With many of the University of Mumbai’s billionaire alumni having inherited a significant portion of their wealth, it is arguably not academics as much as the university’s location in the financial capital as well as its size - more than 200,000 students spread across more than 700 affiliated colleges - that have helped it score over the more famous IITs.

The survey report itself stresses the importance of dynamic cities as “hotspots” for entrepreneurial activity and points to the limited role that educational institutions play as more than a third of the world’s billionaires do not even hold a bachelor’s degree.

Whatever the reasons for its success, MU is now celebrating the results of the survey as another feather in its cap.

“The University of Mumbai is one of the oldest educational institutions in India and we are really proud of the fact that our alumni have done so well,” said Liladhar Bansod, Mumbai University spokesperson.