In the face of early-life adversity, this Indian billionaire scripted a remarkable success story alongside American tech giants like Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google. He possessed a visionary outlook, spotting a golden opportunity long before it matured from a small garage startup.
Kavitark Ram Shriram encountered hardship at a tender age, losing his father when he was just three years old. This adversity brought financial challenges to the family, even jeopardizing his school admission. However, he overcame these obstacles to eventually earn a BS degree from Madras University. The first turning point in his life arrived when he seized the opportunity to pursue an MBA in the United States. This marked the beginning of a successful executive career, during which he worked closely with Jeff Bezos during the initial stages of the e-commerce giant’s growth. Shriram led the online firm Junglee, which was acquired by Amazon for $185 million in 1998.
The second pivotal moment occurred in 2000 when he embarked on a journey to invest in promising ideas. He established his venture capital firm, Sherpalo Ventures. Shriram demonstrated extraordinary foresight by providing early financial support to Google with a $500,000 investment. Today, the company, now known as Alphabet, ranks among the world’s wealthiest, with a market capitalization exceeding Rs 138 lakh crore.
Although Shriram has divested most of his stake, he continues to serve on Alphabet’s board. His net worth stands at Rs 21,637 crore. His significant investments extend to companies such as Paperless Post, Gusto, and InMobi. In a generous gesture, the billionaire and his wife donated $61 million to Stanford University in 2014.