Meet Bihar's richest man, who never went to college, failed in 9 businesses, now net worth of Rs 16713 crore, he is...

Written By Varnika Srivastava | Updated: Aug 26, 2024, 06:18 AM IST

Anil Agarwal began trading scrap metal in the mid-1970s and later acquired Shamsher Sterling Corporation and Sterlite Industries.

Bihar's political might, culture, and knowledge are well-known throughout the world. Biharis are well-known in all spheres of life, including business, politics, the film industry, and administration. We will tell you about the wealthiest individuals in Bihar who were born in the state and are currently ranked among the richest people in both the nation and the world, according to media reports.

In Patna, Bihar, India, Anil Agarwal was born and raised in a Marwadi family. Dwarka Prasad Agarwal, his father, owned a modest company making aluminium conductors. He attended Patna's Miller High School. Rather than attend college, he made the decision to work for his father in his aluminium conductor manufacturing company. In search of better career prospects, the "metal king" moved from Patna to Mumbai (then Bombay) when he was 19.

Famous industrialist Anil Agarwal was born in Patna, Bihar, in 1954. He founded Vedanta Resources Limited and serves as its chairman. With a 100% ownership stake through his company, he controls the holding company, Volcan Investments. The estimated net worth of Anil Agarwal is $4 billion (about Rs 3280 crore). He described his life's journey, saying it required a lot of confidence and hard work to go from a small Bihari village to the London Stock Exchange.

Anil Agarwal began trading scrap metal in the mid-1970s and later acquired Shamsher Sterling Corporation and Sterlite Industries. He controlled input costs by manufacturing metals instead of buying them, becoming the first private sector company in India to set up a copper smelter and refinery. In 2003, he incorporated Vedanta Resources Plc, the first Indian firm to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. Vedanta Resources is a globally diversified natural resources conglomerate. 

The mining magnate started out as a scrap dealer in his teenage in 1970. "I spent my 20s and 30s struggling looking at others and wondering when I will get there one day and most importantly how after 9 failed businesses and years of depression, I have my 1st successful start-up," he said, addressing the Cambridge students.

Anil Agarwal has made multiple investments in several Indian states through his Vedanta group.He had already invested ₹80000 crore in Odisha, and he planned to invest an additional ₹25000 crore to expand its mining, ferrochrome, and aluminium businesses in the state. Vedanta makes up almost 4% of the GDP of Odisha.

In cooperation with Foxconn (2022), Vedanta invested ₹1.54 lakh crore in Gujarat for their new semiconductor plant.