Â鶹APP

Mukesh Ambani Photo By World Economic Forum –

Top 10 Most Famous Indian Entrepreneurs

India is the world’s most populous democracy, with the second-largest native population behind China.

Indians are obsessed with the startup culture, with several Indian companies dominating their respective markets. Due to their contributions as entrepreneurs, the economy has grown dramatically in recent years.

Even though many people still live in poverty as a result of the country’s high levels of economic inequality, the country has a long history of entrepreneurship and wealth development.

Some of the persons on the list came from affluent families, but they got there by turning around pre-existing family businesses into something new. The rest of the list is primarily made up of self-made people.

Let’s take a closer look at the 10 most famous Indian entrepreneurs.

 1. Dhirubhai Ambani

Born in 1932 in the Junagadh district of Chorwad, Dhirubhai Ambani was a successful Indian businessman who started by selling traditional snacks. 

After completing his studies, Ambani left for Yemen, where he sold oil products. However, he soon went back to his homeland with the idea of starting his own business.

Ambani partnered with his cousin to start a textile business but they later went separate ways. 

In 1966, he founded Reliance Commercial Corporation, which later changed to Reliance industries in 1973. Ambani later launched the brand ‘Vimal’ which dealt in textile.

He had a grand vision for India to become an economic superpower, and he saw Reliance as an essential component of his strategy. Reliance Industries is now the largest private company in India.

2. Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani was the first son of Dhirubai Ambani. He got the ownership of his father’s Reliance industries after his demise.

Under him, the company’s revenue has grown to $88 billion and has reached $100 billion in market capitalization. It is the first company to reach the milestone in India.

Mukesh is a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs. He is the owner of India’s largest private company, which has paved the way for modern-day India’s development.

3. JRD Tata

JRD Tata Photo By photodivision.gov.in –

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata was born in 1904 to Indian and French parents. He spent his early years in France and England before moving to India.

While in Europe, Tata was trained as an aviator and later became India’s first licensed pilot. In India, Tata worked in the TATA group family business, where he set up his airline. Tata airlines are modern-day Air India.

In 1954, he founded Tata Motors. An automobile company dealing in automobiles that working Indians can easily afford.

He later ventured into more businesses and by the time of his death, He owned almost 100 different businesses across different fields.

Tata was one of India’s most important businessmen and was awarded the highest civilian honour in 1992.

4. Shiv Nadar

Shiv Nadar is a leading entrepreneur, an industrialist who began his career with Cooper Engineering from the Walchand’s group. He later left to venture into his businesses.

Nadar founded HCL info systems in 1976 selling digital calculators and microcomputers. The company went international in 1980, opening branches in Singapore and the far east.

The company generated a reported revenue of over a million rupees in the first year. It has continued to grow making Nadar the 3rd richest person in India with a net worth of around $29.3 billion.

The company made comprehensive changes in the Indian IT fields and its success earned Nadar India’s 3rd highest civilian award.

5. Lakshmi Niwas Mittal

Mittal and Mamata with Father Photo By Wiki orb2 –

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal is the CEO of the world’s second-largest steel-making company, ArcelorMittal. He began his career working for his father’s steel business but later set out on his own due to family infringements.

Lakshmi opened his first steel factory in Indonesia, Ispat International, in 1978 due to the restrictions on steel production in India. He continued to acquire assets, acquiring state-owned steelworks in Trinidad and Tobago as well as Arcelor in 2006.

He renamed Arcelor to ArcelorMittal and as of 2020, the company had a market capitalization of $32.96 billion. 

6. Azim Premji

Azim Premji, also known as the Czar of India’s IT industry, is a well-known entrepreneur who has helped Wipro become one of the best Indian multinational corporations. 

Premji went to Stanford University to study engineering but had to return home after his father’s passing. He took charge of Wipro which was called Western Indian Vegetable Products 

He expanded the business and diversified to other fields, and upon discovery of the IT boom in India, he opened an IT wing of Wipro.

Premji is now estimated to have a $32.8 billion net worth and is known for his donations to the Azim Premji Foundation. In 2013, he agreed to give half of his wealth by signing the Giving Pledge.

7. Sanjiv Bajaj

Sanjiv Bajaj Photo By Sanjiv Bajaj –

Born in 1969, Bajaj is one of India’s most famous financial figureheads. He was born in the well-off Bajaj family, where he started his career with the Bajaj auto. 

He joined Pune university to study mechanical engineering and later did his MBA from Harvard Business School. After serving in the family business, he became the MD of Bajaj Finserv.

Sanjiv led Allianz General Insurance to become the 2nd most profitable insurance company in the country. He was destined for greatness as he won a range of awards like the Entrepreneur of the year award.

8. Dilip Shangvi

Shangvi started his career working for his father, who had a generic drug business in Kolkata. While working for his father, Dilip had a plan to start his own drug company.

In 1982, he started Sun Pharmaceuticals with a 10000 rupee investment.

He began by producing psychiatric drugs before moving on to cardiology and gastroenterology products. Sun Pharmaceuticals is now India’s largest pharmaceutical company, thanks to several acquisitions.

As of 2021, Dilip had a net worth of $14 billion.

9. Ghanshyam Das Birla

Ghanshyam Das Birla Photo By India Post, Government of India –

Birla was born to an already well-off family. He became an important member of the family and eventually founded companies that still present his legacy.

Birla started as a Jute broker and in 1918, he created Birla Jute Mills. A company operating a cotton and textile mill. Birla had to fight the British rule to continue with his business and in a few years, he had ventured into paper and sugar production.

By the time of Birla’s demise, the Birla group was a mixture of different businesses, which is now run by his great-grandson Kumar Mangalam.

10. N R Narayanamurthy

Narayanamurthy was born to the Kannadiga family. He attended the National Institute of Engineering, where he graduated with a BTech in electrical engineering.

He began his career as a research associate and progressed to Chief Systems Programmer. He founded a company called Softronics, which failed, but this did not deter him. With an initial investment of 10,000 rupees, he co-founded Infosys in 1982.

With a market capitalization of around $90 billion, the company has grown into an IT powerhouse. From 1981 to 2002, he was the company’s CEO before being succeeded by his co-founder.