Rakesh Jhunjhunwala no more: Ace investor's life & rise as the 'Big Bull' of Dalal Street

Ace stock market investor and billionaire business magnate Rakesh Jhunjhunwala passed away at the age of 62 on August 14, Sunday due to existing health issues. "He was not keeping well for the past few days and breathed his last today in Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai," hospital sources said on his demise.

Often called India's own Warren Buffet, Jhunjhunwala has had an indomitable journey from being born in a traditional Rajasthani family, to his rise as the Big Bull of Dalal Street. As of July 2022, Jhunjhunwala had an estimated net worth of $5.5 Billion which made him the 36th wealthiest man in India and the 438th richest man in the world. With Indian markets now witnessing an end of an era after his passing, here is a look back at Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's life. 

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's life and journey

Born on July 5, 1960, Jhunjhunwala grew up in a Rajasthani family, in Mumbai, where his father worked as an Income Tax Commissioner. He graduated from Sydenham College and thereafter enrolled at the Chartered Accountants Institute of India in 1985. While still in college, Jhunjhunwala started dabbling in stocks and began investing in 1985 with just Rs 5,000 when the Bombay Stock Exchange Index was just at 150. He is said to have developed an interest in it listening to his father discuss it with his friends.

After graduating, he married Rekha Jhunjunwala, who is also a stock market investor. One of his first big profits was when he bought 5,000 shares of Tata Tea at Rs 43 and secured Rs 0.5 million in 1986 within 3 months of trading. In the next few years. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala made a number of profits from stocks and began running a privately-owned stock trading firm called RARE Enterprises. Today, his portfolio includes companies like Star Health, Titan, Rallis India, Escorts, Canara Bank, Indian Hotels Company, Agro Tech Foods, Nazara Technologies, and Tata Motors.

In addition to being an active stock market investor, Jhunjhunwala also served as the chairman of Aptech Limited and Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd during the course of his life. He was also on the board of directors of Prime Focus Ltd, Geojit Financial Services, Bilcare Ltd, Praj Industries Ltd, Provogue India Ltd, Concord Biotech Ltd, Innovasynth Technologies Ltd, Mid Day Multimedia Ltd, Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd, Viceroy Hotels Ltd, and Tops Security Ltd. In September 2021 he made headlines after the Zee and Sony merger made him Rs 50 crore richer in 8 days.

In his biggest venture in recent times, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala co-founded Indian airline Akasa Air and was lucky to see it take its first flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad just days before his unfortunate demise on August 7, 2022. In the coming years, Akasa Air plans to establish a strong pan-India presence and provide linkages from metro to tier 2 and tier 3 cities across the country.