Today, India woke up to the news of the passing away of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, often referred to as the Warren Buffet of India.
Going by his magnanimity, if there’s anyone who feels that he was born into the elite and has stayed so all his life, one couldn’t be more wrong. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was born into a middle-class Marwari family in Bombay. His father worked as a commissioner of Income Tax, and it is from him his interest in all things finance got wings.
After graduating from Mumbai and having completed his CA in 1985, he entered the stock market, but without a pennyworth of financial support from his father. However, his investment journey has been nothing less than a roller coaster ride.
Having started from a meager 5000/- worth of investment, which at that time was considered expensive by standards, the profits he earned were massive. In the first year itself, Rakesh earned a profit of INR 5 lakhs through investments in Tata Tea. Having bought shares at INR 43 per share, he sold 5000 shares worth INR 143/- per share.
The ace investor always believed in long-term investing. Titan was his most valuable listed holding. It was his biggest investment worth INR 7,000 crores. Besides Titan, his other investments included Fortis Healthcare, Aurobindo Pharma, Ion Exchange, Lupin, Geojit Financial Services, VIP Industries, Rallis India, Jubilant Life Sciences, and more.
Just like ups and downs are a part of an investor’s life, his portfolio too saw a drop in the recession of 2008. With his sharp investment acumen and eye for finances, he was able to recover the losses by 2012.
His last stint was the ‘frugal airline’ Akasa Air, which was just launched last week. With a firm belief that aviation stocks would rise, he fully supported the launch of the airlines since its inception. He also believed that PSUs were great at gathering deposits, and hence always remained bullish on it.
Rising from an investment of INR 5000/- to INR11,000 crore, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was referred to as the King of Bull market and was widely revered for stock market predictions and bullish outlooks.
Jhunjhunwala, with his ventures as an entrepreneur and his portfolio, was among the richest people in the country. And his story has been nothing less than iconic and legendary which will remain etched for a long time in the hearts of investors and others alike.
He is survived by his wife Rekha and his three children.
Sources:
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/how-a-middle-class-man-became-a-billionaire-and-you-can-do-it-too-little-known-facts-about-rakesh-jhunjhunwala-110741413.html
https://www.business-standard.com/about/who-is-rakesh-jhunjhunwala
