Sun Pharmaceutical Industries shares have declined nearly 9 percent in the last two days after reports that Securities and Exchange Board of India

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(Sebi) is looking into a whistleblower's allegations of irregularities in corporate governance at the country's large pharmaceutical firm.

The sharp decline in the premium pharma stock's value hasn't just affected retail investors wealth alone, but promoter Dilip Shanghvi's personal wealth also, which has dipped by more than 8 percent. In less than a week, Shanghvi's net worth has fallen from $9.73 billion (as on November 26, 2018) to $8.74 billion on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Shanghvi's highest net worth was assessed at over $25 billion in April 2015. From $25 billion in April, 2015, the Sun Pharma promoter's wealth has declined to $12.8 billion at the start of this year. Since then, it has fallen nearly 32 percent this year alone.

While Shanghvi still remains India's sixth richest person by net worth owing to his more than 50 percent stake in the company, the Sun Pharma promoter's shrinking fortune is a tale in itself. Globally, Shanghvi ranks 154th among the Bloomberg Billionaires Index of the world's 500 richest people.

Sun Pharma shares have dropped more than 40 percent in the last three years, following the US Food and Drug Administration finding manufacturing lapses at one of its largest plants.

In 2015, Shanghvi had replaced Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani with a net worth of $21.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaries Index. Ambani's wealth was estimated to be at $20.4 billion at that time.

Shanghvi founded Sun Pharma in 1983 and owns 54 percent of the company's shares in what is the world's fourth largest specialty generic pharmaceutical company. He also owns 68 percent of Sun Pharma Advanced Research, the research and development arm of the drug maker.

Sun Pharma shares traded at Rs 448.60, down nearly 1.5 percent on the NSE at 1.45 pm. The stock attained its 52-week high of Rs 679.30 on September 6 earlier this year.

First Published:Dec 4, 2018 3:15 PM IST