Meet man, born in poor farmer family, after several failures, became richest Indian immigrant in US, his net worth is Rs…

From an average farmer’s family, an Indian’s rise to become the richest Indian-origin man in the United States is beyond an inspiring story. It is about what one envisions and how he turns one's destiny. Jay Chaudhry has emerged as one of the top immigrant billionaire in the US. He is the founder of cyber security company Zscaler who has a net worth of USD 17.9 billion dollars (Rs 15,33,20,66,00,000), a value that makes him richer than the most notable Indian American personalities like Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft Chief Satya Nadella.

Who is Jay Chaudhry?

Jay Chaudhry hails from Panoh, a village in Himachal Pradesh and comes from a farmers’ family. His family was not wealthy due to which Jay experienced many struggles in life. He used to walk 4 kilometres everyday to reach his school and studied under dim light or whatever light he could get but his consistency and hard work paid off in long term. He pursued Bachelor of Technology at IT-BHU (IIT BHU Varanasi). For better opportunities and higher education Jay Chaudhry moved to the United States in 1980.

How Jay Chaudhry founded Zscaler?

There he studied at the University of Cincinnati. Keen to grow his technical acumen, he earned two master’s degrees —one in electronic and computer engineering and another in industrial engineering and management. This combination of technical and managerial education equipped him to start his own venture with innovation and business strategy. To further upgrade his skills, Chaudhry also attended Harvard Business School, which provided him with critical abilities needed in the corporate world.

The 65-year-old Indian-origin cybersecurity mogul founded Zscaler in 2008. Ten years later, in March 2018, the company went public. The CEO and richest Indian American and his family own close to 40% of the Nasdaq-listed firm. The company has gradually become bigger with its global presence and a significant player in cybersecurity, a mark of Chaudhry’s vision and leadership excellence.

However, Zscaler is not Chaudhry’s first venture. He and wife Jyoti quit their jobs in 1996 to invest all their lives’ savings and started SecureIT, a cybersecurity firm. A risky initiative, but one that opened doors to cybersecurity entrepreneurship. He later founded many other tech companies.