Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Warren Buffet, made a fortune worth $6 billion

In 1985, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala started investing when he was in college with just Rs 5,000. The Bombay Stock Exchange had 150 listed companies at the time. His net worth was around $6 billion, as reported by Reuters, and the BSE now trades in 60,000 companies.

Jhunjhunwala was always compared to the value investor Warren Buffet, the Oracle of Omaha who made a great fortune from a very young age. Both investors believed in looking at the overall performance of the companies and assessing aspects such as debt, performance, profit margins, and others. Both advocated for investors to have patience and to hold on to high-performing stocks for many years.

Jhunjhunwala was in his teens when he started his investment journey. His father, who worked for the Income Tax department, advised him to buy Tata Tea shares to try his luck in the stock market. He sold them for Rs 143 three months later and bought 5,000 shares at Rs 43.

That was only the beginning. He made many successful bets, which made him a successful investor, billionaire.

He invested in many top companies, such as Titan, CRISIL, Aurobindo Pharma, Aptech Limited, Ion Exchange, MCX, Fortis Healthcare, Praj Industries, and NCC, and inspired thousands of investors to follow his path.

Jhunjhunwala made a good start in the stock market but his fortune flipped for good when VP Singh's budget in 1989 put the spotlight on business and the private sector. At the time, Madhu Dhanwate was Finance Minister and the general sentiment in the country thought he would present a socialist budget. In contrast, Dhanwate presented a budget favorable for traders and businessmen.

Jhunjhunwala reportedly said he never thought of V.P. Singh would never present a socialist budget as he comes from a Thakur family and would support the business community. He purchased stocks based on his analysis.

He said that before the budget his net worth was Rs 2 crore and just after the budget it was nearly 20 crore.

Warren Buffet is one of the most influential investors of all time, with a net worth of $96.3 billion as of July 2022. Buffet is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns more than 60 companies, including GEICO Corporation, battery maker Duracell, and restaurant chain Dairy Queen.

Buffet bought his first stock Cities Service Preferred at the age of 11; it was priced at $38 each.

At a very young age, Buffet realized the importance of Value investing, which meant buying stocks at an extraordinary discount when the market or sector is down, and then building upon it gradually.

According to Fortune's list, Buffet is the seventh richest man in the world. As of March 31 this year, Apple, Bank of America, American Express, Chevron, and Coca-Cola are the top holdings of his company.

Jhunjhunwala said in an interview with Reuters that his investment mantras are his own and don't follow anyone. He said Buffet was a more mature investor. He said it was not a fitting comparison. He's far ahead in terms of wealth and success and maturity. Jhunjhunwala had holdings in over 40 companies from construction to banks to real estate. He had recently backed Akasa Air.