The growing number of investors in India who wanted an early entry into scrips that would eventually break out keenly monitored every move in his portfolio. For Jhunjhunwala, some of the wagers, particularly those in the infrastructure sector, were unsuccessful. However, the fabled “humbling effect” was absent because he frequently achieved success in other fields, demonstrating his Midas touch.
As evidenced by the most popular characterization of him—”India’s own Warren Buffett”—Jhunjhunwala, a partner at RARE Enterprises who rose to build a $6 billion (almost ₹48,000 crore) fortune and become known as the nation’s largest private investor, leaves behind a comparatively clean slate.
The newest “Big Bull” in the more regulated market had less baggage on this front than names like Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh, whose rise in fortunes in post-liberalized India was soiled with scam connections. Jhunjhunwala was a forerunner of the market-based economy in the early 1990s because he was blatant about wealth creation and flaunted his connections.
Jhunjhunwala did not garner much attention for frauds, but he did appear in certain instances of insider trading and was rumoured to have front-run on stock trades before significant news events. He and others agreed to pay ₹37 crore in 2021 to resolve an insider trading case involving Aptech through the consent route, which…
