Wipro, the Bangalore-based software giant, has emerged as the biggest wealth creator during April 1998 to March 2003, according to a Motilal Oswal Securities study. e-Serve International has been named the fastest wealth creator.

The total wealth created by Wipro during the study period was Rs 24,471 crore (Rs 244.71 billion), while e-Serve International notched up a staggering compounded annual growth rate of 119 per cent in its market capitalisation. Infosys Technologies comes second, creating Rs 23,536 crore (Rs 235.36 billion), and ONGC third, generating Rs 11,051 crore (Rs 110.51 billion).

In the fastest wealth creator category, Matrix Laboratories bagged the second place with a CAGR of 96 per cent. Amtek Auto stood third with a CAGR of 76 per cent.

The trio -- information technology, pharma and banks -- dominate the list of wealth creating sectors. Together, these sectors have contributed 70 per cent to the wealth created during 1998-2003.

The share of the oil and gas sector to the total wealth created has increased from 5.9 per cent in last year's study to 9.2 per cent in the current study.

The fastest wealth creator has been the IT sector, comprising of 12 companies, creating wealth at 53 per cent CAGR during the study period.

The number of multinational corporations featuring in the wealth creators list has declined from a high of 50 per cent in the 1993-1998 study to a low of 12 per cent in the current study.

Homegrown information technology and pharmaceutical companies have displaced the multinational companies as a major wealth creating class.

Motilal Oswal, CMD of Motilal Oswal Securities, said, "We recognise the worth and potential of these wealth creators and the wealth creation awards were initiated by us as a mark of respect towards the top performers."

Explaining the philosophy behind the initiation of the wealth creation study, Raamdeo Agrawal, joint managing director, Motilal Oswal Securities, said, "The concept of value investing is religiously followed and the purpose of the study is to bring forth the traits of the wealth creators in the past and to give an insight into how to value a business in future."