Meet man, who worked at call centre, later started 3 firms, now a billionaire with net worth of Rs...

Stories of becoming a millionaire or billionaire from a poor financial background define the life of many rich entrepreneurs in India. One such story is of the CEO of India’s largest discount brokerage Zerodha, Nikhil Kamath.  

Nikhil Kamath’s childhood was spent hunting used cell phones, trading but losing all money to it and dropping out of school which made him experience many highs and lows of life.  

After spending several years at Oxford Senior Secondary School in JP Nagar, which, as Kamath humorously points out, has no connection to the famous institution in England, he decided to pursue a career in professional chess. He had competed at district and state levels but never reached the top tier. 

So, he ran away from school and started a cell phone trading business with a friend. Kamath says he always had a natural entrepreneurial drive. Eventually, he shifted his focus to stock trading, attracted by the allure of faster and higher returns. 

He joined a call center while also trading on the side, making money, losing it, and repeating the cycle several times. He also worked at Indiabulls Securities. "I went for an interview at Indiabulls without a degree or any qualifications, and somehow managed to get a job managing clients' money for Rs 50,000 a month. I was really surprised to land the role." 

Nikhil Kamath is the co-founder of Zerodha, a discount brokerage firm he started in 2010 with his older brother, Nithin Kamath. Besides Zerodha, Nikhil is involved in other ventures such as True Beacon and Grhuas. Headquartered in Bengaluru, Zerodha serves over 10 million clients, making it one of the largest brokerage firms in India, according to Forbes. 

Kamath was included in the 2024 Forbes World Billionaires List, with a net worth of $3 billion. His brother, Nithin, also appeared on Forbes' 2024 list of India’s 100 Richest. Nikhil, who is the Chief Financial Officer of Zerodha, founded the WTF Fund to help entrepreneurs under the age of 22 in industries like fashion, beauty, and home sectors. 

Kamath was listed on the 2024 Forbes World Billionaires List with a net worth of $3 billion. His brother, Nithin, also made it onto Forbes’ 2024 list of India’s 100 Richest. As of FY24, Zerodha manages assets totaling over ₹5.6 lakh crore and reported an annual profit of more than ₹4,700 crore.