8 Best Business Tycoons in India

Dhirubhai Ambani Dhirubhai Ambani (1932–2002) is an Indian businessman who started out humbly by selling traditional snacks to religious pilgrims.  

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata or JRD Tata (1904–1993) was born in Paris to Indian and French parents.  Working for the family business, TATA group, he set out on his own and built TATA Airlines, which ultimately became the modern Air India. 

Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, age 75, is an Indian entrepreneur who co-founded IT giant Infosys (INFY) with an initial investment of 10,000 rupees, or just a few hundred dollars in today's terms.

Shiv Nadar Shiv Nadar, 76, founded HCL Infosystems in 1976 with an investment of a few thousand dollars, selling calculators and microcomputers. HCL soon expanded to Singapore and the Far East, generating over 1 million rupees in sales not long after its expansion. 

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, 71, is an Indian entrepreneur who began his career working for his father's steel business. He later set out on his own, due to family infighting and created what is now one of the largest steelmakers in the world, ArcelorMittal (MT).  

Ghanshyam Das Birla Ghanshyam Das Birla (1894-1983) is a well-known Indian businessman who started his first company in the early 1900s operating a cotton and textile mill. 

Dilip Shanghvi Dilip Shanghvi, 66, started Sun Pharmaceutical in 1982 with a meager 10,000 rupee investment, or approximately $200. As the son of a pharmaceutical distributor, Shanghvi knew what he was doing. 

Azim Premji Azim Premji, 76, is worth an estimated $9 billion and is the former chair of Wipro Industries (WIT), a diversified software and technology company that many have compared to Microsoft.  

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