Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Biography

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the son of an income tax officer, started dabbling in stocks while he was still in college. He was inspired by listening to his father, who was interested in stock market and often discussed stocks with friends. He also learned his first lesson from his father, who told him that the price fluctuates because of the incidents happening around the world, and encouraged him to check the news. As the young boy became more and more fascinated with stock market, he expressed to his father his intention to invest. His father told him to invest his own money, instead of borrowing from friends and family, and instructed him to get professional qualification as well, following which he decided to pursue a degree in chartered accountancy.

After completing his CA in 1985, when the Bombay Stock Exchange Index was at 150, Rakesh made his first investment with only Rs.5,000. The following year, he made a profit of 5 lakh rupees by selling 5,000 shares of Tata Tea at a price of Rs.143 after purchasing for Rs.43 a share three months ago. Till 1989, he amassed around Rs. 20–25 million in profits and decided to bet on shares of Sesa Goa iron mining company (now Sesa Sterlite). He made a huge profit by selling the 400,000 shares he bought for Rs.10 million. In 2002-03, he bought 6 crore shares of Titan for an average price of Rs.3, which is now valued at Rs. 2100 crore.

The way media portrayed him, it is easy to believe that Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was born with a midas touch and made only the correct choices throughout his life. However, according to him, it is the mistakes he made that helped him be a better investor. He thought that to succeed in the stock market, it is important to acknowledge one's mistakes and learn from them. He was also known for taking risks and being bullish about his investments. He believed that in the next two decades, India "could see a bull run like the one Wall Street had from 1987".

He was also a philanthropist and reportedly intended to donate at least 50% of his fortune to charitable organizations. He was an advocate of education of children from disadvantaged backgrounds and personally sponsored nearly 400 schools.

Known as the 'Big Bull of Dalal Street', Rakesh Jhunjhunwala reportedly had a net worth of around $5.5 billion, according to Forbes. He was a promoter of India's newest airline Akasa Air, which took off in the month of August 2022.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was born on July 5, 1960 in Hyderabad, India, into a Marwari family. His father was an Income Tax Officer posted in Mumbai. He was the youngest member of a middle-class family and had a brother named Rajesh. He completed his bachelor of commerce degree from Sydenham College and then enrolled into the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India from where he completed his CA degree in 1985.

He was married to Rekha Jhunjhunwala and the couple had three children, a daughter named Nishtha and twin sons, Aryaman and Aryavir. The name of his privately owned stock trading firm, Rare Enterprises, is made by combining the first two letters of his name and his wife Rekha's name. He was known as a family man and was very close to his brother, wife and children. He raised his children in a way so that they do not feel wealth is a necessity for every pleasure in a human being's life.

In February 2012, he and his wife hosted a party to celebrate their 25th marriage anniversary, which was a star-studded affair attended by several renowned politicians, businessmen and celebrities including Anil Kapoor, Suniel Shetty, Kabir Bedi, Tabu, Talat Aziz, Rajkumar Hirani, Harsh Goenka, and Ramesh Sippy.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was suffering from multiple health issues, including Kidney and heart problems. He was seen on a wheelchair at the launch of Akasa Air. He felt some uneasiness in the morning of August 14, 2022, and was rushed to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. He was declared dead on arrival by the doctors.