Anil Agarwal: Richest Person of Bihar Origin
Of late, the billionaire has been sharing stories of his humble beginnings in Bihar and then Bombay
Born on January 24, 1954 in Patna, Anil Agarwal is one of the richest person in the world and the richest person of Bihar origin. Agarwal is the founder and chairman of London-headquartered Vedanta Resources. He was ranked 38th richest Indian on the Forbes rich list in 2019.
His father Shri Dwarka Prasad Agarwal had a small aluminium conductor business. He studied at Miller High School, Patna. Instead of going to university, Agarwal decided to join his father’s business. He left for Mumbai, then Bombay, at 19 to pursue career opportunities. He started trading in scrap metal before he acquired Shamsher Sterling Corporation with a bank loan.
In 1986, he set up a factory to manufacture jelly-filled cables, creating Sterlite Industries. In 1993, Sterlite Industries became the first private sector company in India to set up a copper smelter and refinery. Vedanta Resources Plc was incorporated in 2003 in London to access international capital markets. At the time of its listing, Vedanta was the first Indian firm to be listed on London Stock Exchange.
Humble beginning in Bihar
In 2003, Vedanta Resources became the parent company of the group. Of late, the billionaire has been sharing stories of his humble beginnings in Bihar and then Bombay. He tweeted about his move to Mumbai with just a tiffin box and bedclothes. He also wrote about his first flat, his first company and how he only knew two English words – yes and no – when he moved.
“As you all know, English isn’t my first language but i understood the meaning of the word ‘homesick’ when i had to leave Bihar for work. There aren’t enough words to explain my love for this place. Yahan ki har baat duniya se hatt kar hai,” he wrote on social media account twitter.
“Millions of people come to Mumbai to try their luck. I was one of them. I remember the day I left Bihar with only a tiffin box, bedding, and dreams in my eyes. I arrived at Victoria Terminus station, and for the first time I saw a kaali peeli taxi, a double-decker bus & the City of Dreams – all of which I had only seen in the movies. I encourage the youth to work hard & shoot for the stars. Agar aap majboot irade ke saath pehla kadam uthayenge, manzil milna tay hai!,” he wrote in another post.
