Calling the 62-year-old “steadfast”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoed the tributes of other senior officials, tweeting that the tycoon’s death was “sad”.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. Source: Twitter/@rakesh_bot
MUMBAI – Colorful stock-market billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, dubbed India’s Warren Buffett by local media, has died, his office said on Sunday, just a week after he launched the country’s newest airline.
Calling the 62-year-old “steadfast”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoed the tributes of other senior officials, tweeting that the tycoon’s death was “sad”.
The “big bull of Dalal Street” – Mumbai’s Wall Street – had a net worth of $3.5 billion with a significant stake in more than 30 blue-chip Indian stocks.
Jhunjhunwala invested $35 million in about a 40 percent stake in Akasa Air, which took its maiden flight in the Asian nation’s crowded aviation market last Sunday.
Having made money betting on stocks and having no airline experience, the decision to enter the capital-intensive sector was surprising.
“Many people wonder why I started an airline. Instead of answering them, I say I’m ready to fail,” he said at an industry event in February.
“It’s better to try and fail than not try at all,” he said. “I hope to prove people wrong. Now it has become a matter of ego.”
“Full of life, witty and insightful, he made an indelible contribution to the world of finance,” Modi said.
Jhunjhunwali’s office confirmed to AFP that he died on Sunday morning, without providing further details.
