Akasa Air, which started its commercial flights this month, thanked Rakesh Jhunjhunwala for being an early believer in Jhunjhunwala and former IndiGo CEO Vinay Dube for launching India's newest budget carrier, Akasa Air.
We are deeply saddened by the untimely death of Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala this morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr Jhunjhunwala's family and friends. May his soul rest in peace, it added in a statement.
It said that Akasa cannot thank Mr Jhunjhunwala enough for being an early believer in us and putting his trust and faith in us to build a world-class airline. Jhunjhunwala had a invincible spirit, was deeply passionate about everything Indian and cared for the well-being of our employees and customers. Akasa Air will honor Jhunjhunwala's legacy, values and belief in us by striving to run a great airline. The veteran stock market investor, often referred to as India's Warren Buffett, died on Sunday morning. Jhunjhunwala's net worth was 5.8 billion, a lot of which is often referred to as India's Warren Buffett and the Big Bull of Indian markets.
He had a stake in 47 companies at the end of June. Some of his largest holdings were Titan, Star Health, Tata Motors and Metro Brands.
Jhunjhunwala was born in a Rajasthani family on July 5, 1960. He grew up in Bombay, where his father worked as a commissioner of Income Tax. He graduated from Sydenham College and then enrolled at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.