Rakesh Jhunjhunwala birthday: From Rs 5,000 investment to now Rs 34,000 cr; journey from ‘bear’ to ‘big bull’

Big bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala celebrates his 61st birthday on July 5, 2021. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, referred to as India’s own Warren Buffet, was born to an Indian Tax officer in a middle class family.

Big bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala celebrates his 61st birthday on July 5, 2021. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, referred to as India’s own Warren Buffet, was born to an Indian Tax officer in a middle class family. The ace investor started trading in the stock market in 1985, when in college. BSE Sensex was around 150 points at the time; and he began investing with Rs 5,000 as capital. According to Forbes, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s net worth now stands at $4.6 billion (Rs 34,387 crore), as of 3 July 2021. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s first big win was Tata Tea, where he made a profit of Rs 5 lakh in 1986. He bought 5,000 shares of Tata Tea at a price of Rs 43, which zoomed to Rs 143 apiece within just three months, more than tripling his invested money.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala: Big bull was once a bear

The big bull was once a bear in the Harshad Mehta days, and made a lot of money by shorting stocks post Harshad Mehta Scam 1992. In a video interview, Jhunjhunwala admitted making a lot of money short selling, as he was part of the bear cartel. In 1990’s, Indian stock market was dominated by established cartels. One such bear cartel was led by Manu Manek, known as Black Cobra, with followers including Radha Krishan Damani and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, among others. Journalist Sucheta Dalal reported the Harshad Mehta scam of 1992, following which the stock market crashed.