India, why Trump's tariffs could be an opportunity

In the International Monetary Fund ranking of the world's 193 countries for which nominal GDP per capita can be calculated, India ranks 141st, just ahead of Côte d'Ivoire and just behind Cambodia.

On the other hand, in theForbes ranking of countries with the most billionaires (in dollars), India is third, after the United States and China. Quite disconcerting, given that the average GDP per capita in the United States is around 90 thousand dollars, China's is just under 14 thousand and India's is close to, but not quite touching, 3 thousand.

If making comparisons between India and the United States presents some difficulties, a comparison with China can be instructive. When China's average GDP per capita was at the level at which India's is today, the country was home to no more than 10-15 billionaires. India today has 200.

The difference is enormous and cannot be explained by a hypothetical greater propensity for business of Indians. To realise this, one only has to look at the data on 'self-made billionaires'. In China, self-made billionaires are 90% of the total; in the United States - where the last few decades, due to the enormous increase in university costs, have seen a formidable ossification of social differences - they are 70%; in India they are only 50%, a surprisingly low number for what has been the most dynamic of the three economies for years. In the ranking of countries with the most self-made billionaires, India is not third, but 46th (out of 67). Not in the relegation zone, but almost.

All this data seems to suggest that even today, in these parts, it is decisive to inherit a fortune. At that point - the way the Indian economy is structured - continuing to grow, perhaps by diversifying, is relatively easy. Not to mention the multiplier effect on wealth of large real estate holdings.