- Lived:
- b. 24 July 1945, Bombay (Mumbai) → Amalner, then Bangalore (Bengaluru), where he lives and works; living as of October 2026
- Field:
- industry — the cooking-oil company he inherited at twenty-one became the software exporter Wipro; philanthropy — the largest act of private giving in Indian history
- The Big Idea:
- A fortune is not a possession but a trust. He built one of India's biggest companies over five decades, then irrevocably signed about two-thirds of it — roughly $21 billion — over to a foundation working inside India's government schools.
- In their words:
- he describes himself as "deeply influenced by Gandhi's notion of holding one's wealth in trusteeship" (Giving Pledge letter, 2013; as of October 2026)
- If you remember one thing:
- The man who was Forbes' richest Indian five years running ended up giving away far more than he kept — and gave it not to buildings with his name on them but to the unglamorous, essential work of making government schools work.