Travel ranging from 5 thousand to 40 thousand crores: ‘Big Bull’ does not call Rakesh Jhunjhunwala as Dalal Street’s magician

New Delhi. ‘Big Bull of Dalal Street’ Rakesh Jhunjhunwala started with just 5 thousand rupees and made assets worth more than 40 thousand crores. His life is considered one of the most inspiring stories of the Indian stock market. Born on 5 July 1960 in a simple Marwari family in Mumbai, Jhunjhunwala’s father was an officer in the Income Tax Department. Father often talks about the stock market with friends, which led to his trend from there. The father advised him to read the newspaper daily, so that the understanding of business and market could increase.

Left the path of a safe job
After studying and becoming a chartered accountant from Cydenham College, he chose the stock market leaving the way of safe jobs. He borrowed 5 thousand rupees from his brother for initial investment. In 1986, he took risks and raised more money from experts at higher interest. His first big bet was on Tata Tea. The shares purchased for Rs 43 reached Rs 143 in three months and earned around Rs 5 lakh. Further investment in Tata Power and Sesa Goa at the right time increased their capital. But the most historical investment was in the Titan company. In the initial 2000s, when the company was struggling, he expressed confidence in it. The stocks purchased at the price of Rs 30-40 later gave a profit of more than 15 thousand crores.

‘Always go against the crowd’

‘Always go against the crowd. When everyone is selling, buy and sell when everyone is buying. This was his most famous mantra. Jhunjhunwala invested in many big companies through his firm Rare Enterprises (Rekha and Rakesh’s name). These include names like Star Health, Metro Brands, Tata Motors and CRISIL. He increased his property manifold by relying on strong companies in every difficult period from the 1992 Securities Scam to the global economic crisis of 2008.