Narendra Modi’s sweep of the general elections in 2014 gave a fresh leg to the stock market with several stocks surging over 10% in intraday trading on the day the results were announced. Often labelled as a ‘market-mover,’ denizens assumed that Mr Modi and his cabinet must be a big fan of the stock market.
But as opposed to what many may think, after bank deposits, Prime Minister and his cabinet prefer real estate as an asset class for investment.
As per the assets declared by the ministers, fixed deposits are a clear winner with the majority share, followed by real estate, bonds, golds, and the stock market.
Out of the total Rs 91.9 crore declared, about 38.57% was allocated to FDs, closely followed by real estate with 31.45%. Bonds, gold, and equities constituted about 7.53%, 3.55%, and 2.09% respectively.
PM Modi holds total assets worth Rs 1.7 crore, out of which 60% is invested in real estate.
Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister, has secured the first spot in the list of being the richest man in Modi’s council of ministers. He surely knows the how to manage his finances efficiently. His total asset accounts for a whopping Rs 113 crore, out of which Rs 75 crore is skewed towards real estate. Jointly with his wife, he owns residential properties in Delhi and Gurgaon. He also owns land in Gandhinagar, Amritsar, and Faridabad and a commercial space (Cyber Park Complex) in Gurgaon.
The Finance Minister is followed by the Food Processing Industries Minister, Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Her real estate asset roughly accounts for a little over Rs 61 crore. Jointly with her husband S. Sukhbir Singh, she owns agricultural and non-agricultural land in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan worth about Rs 13 crore. She also owns a commercial property in Punjab and houses in Chandigarh, Sirsa, and Muktsar.
Woman and Child Development Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi is also a proud owner of several properties.
She independently owns three commercial properties in New Delhi and one in Gurgaon. She also has 40% share in 9, Khan Market and 10% in Sanjay Gandhi Sons that roughly accounts for Rs 6.9 crore. As far as her residential assets are concerned, she owns a house in Delhi’s Jor Bagh that is worth Rs 18 crore. Overall, her immovable assets account for a little over Rs 24 crore.
