Early Life and Career:
- Radhakishan Shivkishan Damani is an Indian billionaire businessman and investor, known as the founder and chairman of the retail chain Avenue Supermarts Limited.
- Raised in a Maheshwari Marwari Hindu family in a single-room apartment in Mumbai.
- Started studying commerce at the University of Mumbai but dropped out after one year.
- Following his father’s death, who worked on Dalal Street, Damani left his ball-bearing business and entered the stock market as a broker and investor.
- Made profits through short-selling stocks in the 1990s and became reportedly the largest individual shareholder of HDFC Bank.
- After the Harshad Mehta Scam in 1992, Damani saw a significant rise in income due to short-selling profits.
- Operated a franchise of Apna Bazaar in 1999 but was unconvinced by its business model.
- Quit the stock market and started his own hypermarket chain, DMart, with the first store in Powai in 2002.
- The DMart chain grew rapidly, and the company went public in 2017.
Net Worth and Rankings:
- As of 2024, Damani’s estimated net worth is US$18.3 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and $17 billion according to Forbes.
- In 2020, he became the fourth-richest Indian with a net worth of $16.5 billion, ranking #117 on the global list of billionaires.
- In 2022, he was ranked #87 on the global list (Forbes) of billionaires.
Investments:
- Damani holds stakes in various companies, including tobacco firm VST Industries and cement producer India Cements.
- Acquired a 1% stake in Andhra Paper and a 15% stake in India Cements in May 2020, taking his investment in India Cements to 19.89%.
- Publicly holds 14 stocks in his investment portfolio, with the total value of his stock portfolio approximately ₹178,572.4 crore (US$22 billion) in 2023.
Personal Life:
- Radhakishan Shivkishan Damani is married and has three children.