Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

At £26 billion, Tirupati Balaji temple one of India's richest

The religious place is popular among wealthy.

At £26 billion, Tirupati Balaji temple one of India's richest

Tirupati Balaji temple, one of India’s richest temples, has declared its total wealth at close to £26 billion.

In a white paper issued recently, the temple said it had 10.3 tonnes of gold and bank deposits of £17 billion.


The Tirupati Tirumala Devasthams, the trust which runs the temple, said its fixed deposits stood at $19.44 bn (£16.42 bn) including the $3.5 bn (£2.96bn) collected since 2019.

All gold donations were sent to the government mint under a monetisation scheme, it said.

The net worth of Tirupati temple is more than the market capitalisation of IT services firm Wipro, food and beverage company Nestle and state-owned oil giants ONGC and IOC.

Located in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, it has 960 properties across India. Hundreds of thousands of devotees visit the religious place every day. On Saturday, more than 73000 pilgrims visited the temple. Its income comes from donations from devotees.

The temple, built in about 300 AD, is dedicated to the Hindu God of Vishnu. The structure represents south Indian architecture.

There is a belief among many Hindus that they should visit the temple for spiritual fulfilment.

“It attracts worshippers from every corner of the country,” political commentator Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jnr told The Times.

“People don’t come once, they come again and again, for every special occasion”, he said adding, “it defeats rational explanation but it fulfils a need in Hindus.”

Along with Padmanabha temple in southern India, Vaishno Devis shrine in the north and Janagannatha temple in the east of the country, Tirupati temple ranks among the richest religious places in India and the world.

The ancient religious structure is also known as the “rich man’s temple” because of its popularity with industrialists and wealthy film stars.

India’s second richest man and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani visited Tirumala recently ahead of the rollout of the company’s 5G mobile service. The tycoon was accompanied by his family members.

When veteran Hindi actor Amitabh Bachchan turned 80 recently, his son Abhishek visited the place.

Similarly, on June 10, 2022 Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone offered her prayers at Lord Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati on the occasion of her father and former Badminton player Prakash Padukone's 67th birthday.

More For You

Starmer faces revolt as welfare bill vote sparks Labour uproar

Keir Starmer speaks during a reception for public sector workers at 10 Downing Street in London on July 1, 2025. (Photo by CARL COURT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Starmer faces revolt as welfare bill vote sparks Labour uproar

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer faced the most serious test of his leadership on Tuesday (1) as his government’s flagship welfare reforms came under fierce attack from within his own party.

The day was marked by emotional speeches, last-minute concessions, and a deep sense of division among Labour MPs, many of whom said the proposed changes would push vulnerable people into poverty

Keep ReadingShow less
Lucy Letby

Letby, from Hereford in western England, was charged in 2020 after a series of deaths in the hospital's neo-natal unit.

Three senior hospital staff arrested in Lucy Letby case probe

POLICE on Tuesday said they had arrested three senior staff members at the hospital where nurse Lucy Letby was found guilty of murdering seven babies. The arrests were made on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

The investigation was launched in 2023 at the Countess of Chester Hospital (CoCH) in northwest England, following Letby’s conviction and life sentence for killings that took place between 2015 and 2016.

Keep ReadingShow less
food-delivery-getty

Uber Eats and Deliveroo will tighten ID checks, including facial verification, to curb illegal migrant work after UK government pressure. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Food delivery platforms to step up ID checks after migrant work abuse reports

FOOD delivery companies Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat have agreed to strengthen security measures, including facial verification checks, to prevent irregular migrants from working through their platforms, following criticism from the UK government.

The announcement came after the Labour government summoned the three firms for a meeting in response to a report by The Sun which exposed how some migrants were bypassing rules and working illegally in the gig economy sector.

Keep ReadingShow less
David Joseph

Joseph has chaired several BRIT Awards shows and was an executive producer of the Oscar and BAFTA-winning 2015 documentary Amy.

David Joseph named new CEO of the RSA

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS (RSA) has announced the appointment of David Joseph CBE as its next chief executive officer. He will take over the role in September, succeeding Andy Haldane.

Joseph previously served as chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK for 17 years. During his time at the company, he oversaw its transformation into a global exporter of British music and worked with several major international artists.

Keep ReadingShow less
Labour Rift Deepens as MPs Prepare for Crucial Welfare Bill Vote

People take part in a protest against disability welfare cuts on June 30, 2025 in London. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

MPs to vote on welfare bill amid Labour divisions

DOZENS of Labour MPs are expected to vote against the government’s welfare reforms despite recent concessions aimed at easing opposition.

The government had initially planned to tighten eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (Pip) but later said the stricter rules would only apply to new claimants from November 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less