The Making of Indian Warren Buffet

Journey from Jhunjhuna to Dalal Street

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, a veteran investor, stock market expert, and legendary figure of Dalal Street in India, passed away on Sunday, August 14 from a cardiac arrest.

Today as we look at his journey we find that Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was the only man aside from Warren Buffet who has amassed a billion dollars through stock market investing and that too in a developing market.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala began his stock market journey with Rs. 5,000, which, in the middle of the 1980s, was $500. He converted that amount over the course of the following 35 years to over $4 billion or Rs 30,000 crore. If you look at the compounding ratio, it has been increased in dollar terms by over 50%.

Personal Life

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was born on July 5, 1960. He was a son of an income tax officer and began experimenting with stocks while still a college student. His father, who was engaged in the stock market and frequently discussed stocks with friends, was a source of inspiration to him. He also picked up his first lesson from his father, who advised him to follow the news and explained that events throughout the world affect prices. The youngster told his father that he planned to invest as he grew more and more captivated by the stock market. He chose to seek a degree in CA after his father advised him to invest his own money rather than borrow from friends and relatives.

He invested under both his own name and that of his wife, Rekha Jhunjhunwala, who is a licensed chartered accountant.

Financial Career

1. Jhunjhunwala was the chairman of Aptech Limited and Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
2. He was on the board of directors for big businesses, including Prime Focus Limited, Geojit Financial Services, Bilcare Limited, Praj Industries Limited, Provogue India Limited, Concord Biotech Limited, Innovasynth Technologies (I) Limited, Mid-Day Multimedia Limited, Nagarjuna Construction Company Limited, Viceroy Hotels Limited, and Tops Security Limited.
3. Jhunjhunwala and his wife founded their own business, Rare Enterprises, in 2003. Private equity investment and asset management company Rare Enterprises, based in Mumbai, makes investments in industries like biotechnology, digital entertainment, education, healthcare, and hospitality.
4. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala made his first significant profit of Rs. 5 lakh in 1986. He sold 5,000 shares of Tata Tea for Rs. 143 after purchasing them for Rs. 43 each three months earlier, making a profit of Rs. 5 lakh.
5. Between 1986 and 1989, he made a profit of roughly Rs 20–25 lakh. He made about Rs. 20–25 million in profits up until 1989 and decided to invest them in Sesa Goa Iron Mining Company shares (now Sesa Sterlite). He sold the 400,000 shares he had bought for Rs. 10 million, making a sizable profit.
6. He served on the International Movement to Unite Nations' Board of Advisors (I.I.M.U.N.).He frequently favored equities in the financial, technology, retail, and pharmaceutical industries.
7. For 176 crore, Jhunjhunwala acquired 6 of the 12 apartments at Malabar Hill's Ridgeway complex from Standard Chartered Bank in 2013. Later in 2017, he paid HSBC 195 crore to purchase the remaining 6 units in the building. After demolishing the previous structure in 2021, he started building a new, 13-storey mansion that was 70,000 square feet in size.
8. His largest investment as of 2021 was in Titan Company, which is valued at Rs 7,294.8 crore. He purchased 6 billion shares of Titan in 2002–2003 for an average price of Rs. 3, which are currently worth Rs. 2100 crore.
9. He invested $400 million for a 40% share in Akasa Air in 2021, co-founding the low-cost airline in India with former Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dubey.

An Interesting Fact about Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was also a movie producer. Movies like "English-Vinglish," "Shamitabh," and "Ki and Ka" were produced by him. He was the chairman of Hungama Digital media entertainment Pvt Ltd.

The investor was seen as a vibrant, forward-thinking, and relentless Indian optimist who will be remembered in the investment community for his trading and investment skills, which helped many people to believe in the India narrative and provided them with many valuable insights.