There is no doubt that India has produced notable billionaires even as family businesses have passed down from generation to generation.
However, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. In a bid to make a difference in the society, few billionaires in India are extending their fruitful contributions to the less unfortunate ones.
74-year-old tech magnate Azim Hashim Premji is the Chairman of IT firm Wipro and was listed among the 100 most successful people for two years by TIME magazine.
In the year 2013, he signed ‘The Giving Pledge; to donate at least half of his wealth, a campaign started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
So far, he has donated $21 billion to Azim Premji Foundation, which is an education-focused non-profit he founded in 2001.
Contribution to social cause: Rs 113 crore
It is worth mentioning here that the chairman of Wipro was the second richest person in India in 2018, but this year, he has come to the 17th spot, and for a touching reason.
He donated so much money to the charity that he is now no longer even in the top 10 richest people of the country. He went from being worth $21 billion to $7.2 billion.
Here’s the top 10 list of India’s richest people
- Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries) – $51.4m
- Gautam Adani (Adani Ports & SEZ) – $15.7m
- Hinduja brothers (Ashok Leyland) – $15.6m
- Pallonji Mistry (Shapoorji Pallonji Group) – $15m
- Uday Kotak (Kotak Mahindra Bank) – $14.8m
- Shiv Nadar (HCL Technologies) – $14.4m
- Radhakishan Damani (Avenue Supermarts) – $14.3m
- Godrej family (Godrej Group) – $12m
- Lakshmi Mittal (ArcelorMittal) – $10.5m
- Kumar Mangalam Birla (Aditya Birla Group) – $9.6m
“Mukesh Ambani ranked as the richest Indian for 12th year in a row by Forbes
Industrialist Gautam Adani jumped eight spots to become second-richest Indian
Azim Premji’s generous philanthropy saw him slip from No. 2 to No. 17 on the list.
When you get wealth, be an #azimpremji not #MukeshAmbani or #adani
Giving is more important than accumulating.
India’s richest tech billionaire has given away more money than what he has right now. Wipro’s Azim Premji’s total contribution to philanthropy currently stands at 148,925 crore ($21billion). That’s greater 30% greater than his current net worth of 117, 100 crore($16.5 billion).
Salute Azim Premji on giving such a huge amount to charity.Azim Premji: The business tycoon with a large heart,” this is how Twitter reacted.