5 youngest billionaires of India and how they make their money

In 2019, Forbes released their annual list of the 100 richest people in the country. Leading the pack of the youngest billionaires in India is the 38-year-old Byju Ranveendran. Most of the younger names on this list happened to be founders of very successful start-ups. The others had grown the empires of the family-run businesses to new lengths. Besides being billionaires, these people have conquered new heights in the business world and are putting the country on the world map by their sheer hard work and drive. And so, it wouldn’t hurt all of us to know about these young trailblazers and take a page out of their books.

5 youngest billionaires of India and their net worth

1. Byju Raveendran

Founder and CEO of Byju’s Learning App

In 2011, a school teacher called Byju Raveendran created an app that took classrooms for students from the kindergarden to the twelfth grade online. He launched the app in 2015 with his brother and wife. The following year, thanks to a generous investment from the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Byju’s became the first Asian corporation to receive this grant from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg and wife Priscilla Chan’s limited liability company. And in 2019, Ranveendran made his debut on the Forbes India Rich List by ranking 72nd and was the youngest billionaire on the list. His company is now worth $5.5 billion and Shah Rukh Khan has come onboard as the ambassador. The company has also received more investments from Tencent and fellow billionaire Rajan Pai and has now acquired a unicorn status. According to reports, the Byju Learning App is used by about 30 million students in India. And by last year, the company acquired the jersey rights for the Indian Cricket Team.

Age: 38

Net worth: Rs 13,620 crores ($1.91 billion)

2. Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Founder and CEO of Paytm

The second youngest billionaire in India is also the richest among the five. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, as most of you would know, is the Founder and CEO of the mobile payments company, Paytm. With India being the country with the second-highest number of startups in the world, Sharma’s story is an inspiration to all aspiring entrepreneurs out there. He is the son of a school teacher from Aligarh and founded Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications in 2000. This company offered content on your phone like news, cricket scores, ringtones, jokes and exam results. Later, by 2011, he launched Paytm. His start-up was among the biggest beneficiaries when demonetisation hit the country in 2016. In 2018, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathway invested a whopping $300 million in the company. Now, the app has advanced from just doing mobile payments to becoming an e-commerce giant.

Age: 41

Net Worth: Rs 17,113 crores ($2.4 billion)

3. Shamsheer Vayalil

Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of VPS Health Group

Shamsheer Vayalil was born in Kozhikode, Kerala and is a radiologist by profession. He earned his medical degree from the Kasturba Medical College in Manipal and then practiced Radiology at the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Married to Shabeena, the eldest daughter of Gulf retailing billionaire M.A. Yusuff Ali, he was initially backed by his father-in-law to open one hospital in Abu Dhabi in 2007. Since then, Vayalil became the Founder, CEO and MD of the VPS Healthcare, which currently has 23 hospitals in four countries with over 125 medical centres under its banner. His company has over 13,000 employees from the Middle East, Europe and India. Vayalil’s company also owns the Rockland Hospital chain in Delhi and the VPS Lakeshore Hospital in Kochi. Besides VPS, Vayalil also holds a 21% stake in an investment firm called Amanat, of which he is the vice-chairman and managing director. The billionaire has also a member of The Giving Pledge, under which he has promised to donate half of his wealth for philanthropy.

Age: 43

Net worth: Rs 9,982 crores ($1.4 billion)

4. Ranjan Pai

Managing Director and CEO of the Manipal Education and Medical Group

Ranjan Pai is the grandson of TMA Pai, the man responsible for setting up the University Town of Manipal. He is a doctor by profession and controls the Manipal Group, which is an education and healthcare empire with six colleges and 16 hospitals. He started his career as the MD of the Maleka Manipal College in Malaysia. Under his leadership, MEMG has launched a stem cell therapeutics company called Stempeutics. It develops therapeutics from both embryonic as well adult stem cells. Besides that, the Manipal Cure and Care (MCC), which is the Group’s foray into retail is his brainchild. Recently, Pai acquired a 51% stake in Cigna TKK Health Insurance, which has since been renamed to Manipal Cigna Health Insurance.

Age: 47

Net worth: Rs 11,409 crores ($1.6 billion)

5. Acharya Balkrishna

Co-Founder, CEO and Managing Director of Patanjali Ayurved

We are sure you are familiar with Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s infamous ayurveda brand, called Patanjali. Well, he may be the face of the brand, the brains behind is another one of our youngest billionaires, Acharya Balkrishna. In fact, Balkrishna owns 98.6% of the privately held company, which he co-founded with Baba Ramdev. A resident of Haridwar, Balkrishna was born to Nepalese immigrants from Syangja. It all began in 1995, when the two men opened doors to the Divya Yoga Pharmacy in Haridwar. Cut to 2006, the duo partnered once again to launch an FMGC company and called it Patanjali. The initial investment came from NRI followers of Baba Ramdev, Sunita and Sarwan Poddar. From never having an account in a bank to having his company produce a turnover of Rs 5000 crore (2015-16), Balkrishna has really taken his company to new heights. Patanjali’s products are now available on all major e-commerce platforms. And as of July 2019, the National Company Law Tribunal approved Patanjali’s $630 million takeover of the edible oil maker, Ruchi Soya.

Age: 47

Net worth: Rs 10,695 crores ($1.5 billion)

Now that you’re inspired, go hustle.