Rakesh Jhunjhunwala died earlier today. He was aged 62. And if you know anything about the stock markets, you’ve heard his name.
Often referred to as India’s Warren Buffett, this is the man who went on to become one of the most successful Indian equity investors of all time.
The man who acquired the title of Big Bull even since Harshad Mehta lost it.
The man who is referred to as India’s own Warren Buffet and the equity investor with the Midas touch.
The man who was ranked 54th richest in India by Forbes in 2020.
And the investor who earned ₹1,400 crore during the pandemic while the world was falling apart.
Born to an Income Tax officer and a stock market enthusiast in a middle class family, Rakesh started dabbling in stocks while still in college. A chartered accountant by profession, he showed active interest in the stock market at the time when the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was trading at around 150. Today, it trades somewhere around 40,000.
Between 1986 and 1989 Rakesh earned ₹20-25 lakhs through investments in stocks. It was one of his biggest profits, till then.
Now the poster boy of the Indian bull market he was once a bear in the Harshad Mehta days. Under the guidance of Radhakrishna Damani, he made a lot of money shorting stocks post-1992.
He apparently also filled the void that Harshad Mehta’s arrest created in the stock market.
Over the years, Jhunjhunwala successfully invested in Titan, CRISIL, Sesa Goa, Praj Industries, Aurobindo Pharma and NCC and emerged as the richest investor of our country.
In one of his interviews with ET in 2018, Rakesh once even said that Harshad Mehta is a dream.
Today Rakesh runs his privately owned stock trading firm Rare Enterprises.
Most of you might remember the news from 2017 when he earned more than ₹875 crore in a single trading session, due to a surge in Titan’s shares.
We got a glimpse of insider trading in Scam 1992 and while Harshad Mehta also indulged in it and was penalised by SEBI, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala too has been under the scanner of the financial regulator.
Recently, it was reported by Business Today that Jhunjhunwala earned ₹5.56 crore per day since 23rd March just from one company, Escorts Ltd. The key to him making profits was holding on to the shares despite losses in between to earn greater profits in the long term.
He has been in the market for long now and is known for taking risks and making calculated investments.
Rakesh also contributes significantly to philanthropic causes and revealed his plan of giving away 25% of his wealth to charity by July 2021.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala wanted to become the next big name after Harshad Mehta’s downfall, and here he is claiming and keeping the title as the Big Bull of Dalal Street.