Arrivals and departures

Fifteen new entrants have made it to the Billionaire Club. Five have dropped out

BS Research Bureau

The Billionaire club has been generous this year, and as many as 15 new billionaires have paid the whopping admission fee. They are, of course, as befits members of this super-exclusive club, no ordinary folk, and their collective net worth totals Rs 3,519 crore. That's by no means all - billionaires are distinguished not only for having money, but, more importantly, the ability to make large amounts of money as well. And we can proudly say that these new entrants have increased their net worth by Rs 1,612 crore or 84.5 per cent. Now that's what we call a respectable rate of return.

Five who were in last year's do not figure in this year's list. They are K R Naik, Sushil Suri, Subhai Ghai, BVR Mohan Reddy and Manmohan Shetty and Vasanji Mamania. They lost their place in the billionaire list on account of a decline in the market value of the company promoted by them. However, K R Naik, ranked 64 last year, lost his place on account of detailed information on the promoters' holding in D-link India not being available this year.

Fifteen new entrants got into the list on account of their net worth on August 30 having crossed the Rs 100 crore mark. However, seven of them would have made it to last year's list had infomation on the promoters' holding been available last year. Information on them is now available.

The new entrants come from varied fields - pharmaceuticals, steel, cement, textiles, chemicals and, of course, information technology. But they have one thing in common - they are self-made men, most of them being first-generation entrepreneurs who set up their businesses in the 1980s. They are the inspiration for thousands of entrepreneurs struggling to expand their businesses, yet daring to dream big. A few words of introduction about some of these new members follow.

N Prasad and M Ravinder, promoters of Matrix Laboratories, and ranked 54 in the Billionaires list, have a net worth of Rs 369 crore. They are the wealthiest new entrants this year. Individually, N Prasad is worth Rs 106 crore, holding 15.89 per cent of Matrix Laboratories, while M Ravinder is worth Rs 63 crore, holding 9.21 per cent. Matrix Laboratories is a Hyderabad-based company, primarily engaged in the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients and chemical intermediates.

Shyam S Bhartia, chairman and managing director, and Hari S. Bhartia, co-chairman, are the two key persons at Jubilant Organosys. Shyam Bhartia, after graduating in commerce, did his ICWA from the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI). Hari Bhartiya has 20 years of experience in speciality chemicals and biotechnology, food, information technology and other sectors. He has led his business group into strategic alliances and affiliations with some of the leading global corporations. The result: they entered the Billionaire Club, ranking second among new entrants, with a net worth of Rs 278 crore, earning them the 68th rank in the club.

The Welspun group of companies has been promoted by Gopiram Goenka, Balkrishan Goenka and Rajesh R. Mandawewala. The group has three listed companies - Welspun India, Welspun Syntex and Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren. Welspun Syntex is a manufacturer and exporter of specialty polyester texturised yarns. Welspun India manufacturers and exports terry towels.

Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren is an Indo-German venture, set up with technical collaboration from Intertec GmbH, Germany and the equity participation of Gujarat Industrial Investment Corporation and also Intertec. Gopiram and Balkrishna Goenka bring to the table a net worth of Rs 279 crore, earning them the 66th rank in the Billionaire club.

Emami was set up in 1974 by R S Agarwal and R S Goenka with a single strategy: adding value to existing products. Today the group is worth Rs 200 crore, and the promoters are worth Rs 156 crore through Emami, a listed group company. Even though cosmetics and toiletries continue to be the main area of focus, the other companies in the Emami group are flourishing too. From health care to real estate to retailing and, from paper to writing instruments, Emami is creating one success story after another.

Rajju D Shroff (net worth: Rs 226 crore) is promoter chairman of United Phosphorus. Prior to setting up the company, he worked at Excel Industries. He went abroad and garnered hands-on experience in managing plants for the manufacture of phosphorus based chemicals.

United Phosphorus is the largest producer in India of crop protection products, including fumigants, fungicides, insecticides, rodenticides and herbicides. The company ranks fourth in the list of global generic agrochemical companies. It is the world's largest producer of aluminium phosphide.

Ashok Punj is the promoter and managing director of PSL Holdings. This new entrant in the BS Billionaire list has been ranked 114 and has a net worth of Rs 130 crore. Punj acquired a masters degree in engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Kishore Biyani (net worth: Rs 135 crore) is the promoter of the Pantaloon group. He began his career in 1987. Pantaloon has today evolved as a leading manufacturer-retailer with 13 departmental stores and 5 hypermarkets operational across the country.

The Kirloskar family manages a Rs 2,300 crore engineering conglomerate spread across several industries. It specialises in the power, construction and mining, agriculture, industry and transport, oil and gas and environment protection industries and turns out a range of world-class industrial products and turnkey services.

With most of the Kirloskar group's listed companies faring well on the equity markets, the group's net worth increased to Rs 122 crore from Rs 62 crore last year.

The promoters of Blue Dart - Tushar Jani, Clyde Cooper and Khushroo Dubash - are worth Rs 106 crore. Tushar Jani is a science graduate from Mumbai University. He is a founding member of Blue Dart Courier Services and the founder chairman of Blue Dart Express Limited and Blue Dart Aviation. He has over 25 years of experience in the shipping and transport Industry, and pioneered the inland logistics of sea freight containers.

Clyde Cooper, one of the founding members of Blue Dart Courier Services, has over 25 years of experience in the air cargo, aviation and express industry. He is also a managing partner in two air cargo clearing and forwarding companies based in Mumbai. He has been instrumental in leading the concept of "On Board Couriers," setting up the logistics for the hub-and-spoke system.

Khushroo Dubash, a graduate of Mumbai University, is recognised as one of the founders of the express industry in India. He laid the foundations of Blue Dart's marketing strategies. And lastly, while space does not permit the enumeration of each and every one of the Billionaire Club's new entrants, they are all very welcome in the club.

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