Mumbai: The death of Indian billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala puts a spotlight on the nearly $4 billion worth of stocks held by the famed investor, whose trades were closely scrutinized, Bloomberg reported.
The man known as India’s Warren Buffett died of a reported cardiac arrest at the age of 62. The self-made trader invested in a wide swathe of established businesses and startups, and served on the boards of several Indian firms.
Jhunjhunwala was among the most influential market voices in Asia’s third-biggest economy, with an intense following among the nation’s growing horde of retail investors. The man also known as “Big Bull” was a fierce backer of the India growth story.
Jewelry retailer Titan Co. was one of the largest and most profitable investments for the veteran trader and his wife Rekha Jhunjhunwala, making up for more than a third of their portfolio, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Their other top holdings by market value include Star Health & Allied Insurance Co., footwear maker Metro Brands Ltd. and automaker Tata Motors Ltd. Jhunjhunwala held stakes of more than 10% in Star Health, IT firm Aptech Ltd. and videogame maker Nazara Technologies Ltd.
Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged the impact Jhunjhunwala had on the investing community. The “indomitable” investor made “an indelible contribution to the financial world,” Modi wrote in a tweet.
Jhunjhunwala had an estimated net worth of $5.5 billion (as of July 2022), which made him the 36th richest man in India. Jhunjhunwala was also chairman of Hungama Media and Aptech, as well as a director of Viceroy Hotels, Concord Biotech, Provogue India, and Geojit Financial Services.
He grew up in Mumbai, where his father was posted as an Income Tax Officer. After graduating from Sydenham College in 1985, he enrolled at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Jhunjhunwala invested Rs 5,000 in capital in 1985 which grew to Rs 11,000 crore by September 2018.
He has developed interest in the equity market after listening to his father discussing it with his friends. His father had asked him to read newspapers regularly because news made the market volatile.
Jhunjhunwala borrowed money from his brother’s client and promised to return the capital with higher returns after his father refused to give money to him.
When he bought 5,000 shares of Tata Tea. He made a huge profit in 1986. He earned over three-times profit. In three years he earned Rs 20-25 lakh.
He remained an active investor in the market after that and held various stocks in his portfolio.
Akasa Air is an Indian airline co-founded by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and former Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dubey. The airline currently has two aircraft with additional order for 70 more aircraft and flies to three cities as of Aug 9, 2022.
Sensex reclaims 60,000 mark after 4 months
New Delhi: Benchmark index Sensex touched a psychologically crucial 60,000 mark this morning after more than four months. A slight moderation in inflation — both in the US and India — coupled with fresh inflow of foreign funds into Indian capital markets infused positive investor sentiments.
The latest bull run in Indian stocks has been continuing for the past five weeks on a trot.
Till early July, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were consistently selling equities in the Indian markets for the past nine-to-ten months due to various reasons, including tightening of monetary policy in advanced economies, rising demand for the dollar and high returns from US bonds. They have pulled out ₹202,250 crore so far in 2022, NSDL data showed.
In July, they were, however, the net buyer with a total purchase of equities worth ₹4,989 crore. So far in August, they bought equities worth another ₹22,453 crore, data showed.
“Declining US inflation, confidence that the Fed need not have to aggressively raise rates and the increasing probability of a soft landing of the US economy are supporting this rally. In India, steadily declining inflation, strong growth momentum in the economy and FIIs turning consistent buyers are driving the rally,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Meanwhile, benchmark indices – Sensex and Nifty – rose nearly 10-11 per cent during the ongoing rally on a cumulative basis, thereby recovering largely the entire losses they witnessed so far in 2022.
Notably, the ongoing rally has made Indian stocks investors richer by around Rs 25 trillion.
The all-India market capitalization rose from Rs 25,319,892 crore on July 11 to Rs 27,792,290 till last updated, Bombay Stock Exchange data showed.
