Meet man, born in Pakistan, got polio at age 2, moved to US in 20s and became billionaire, his net worth is Rs...

It's easy to say that hardships don't define us. But to overcome them and achieve success is no easy feat. Only a few names come to mind when we think of such stories. One such tale of is of billionaire serial entrepreneur Romesh Wadhwani, who was born in present-day Pakistan and moved to India as a refugee when he was just a few days old. This is his story.

Personal life and education
Wadhwani was born in 1947 in Karachi, British India, and his family moved to Delhi during the Partition of India. Life didn't get easy anytime soon as Wadhwani contracted polio at the age of 2 years, causing mobility issues throughout his life. He completed a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. He went on to pursue a Master’s degree and doctorate in the same field from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, US. Wadhwani is married to Kathleen and the couple has one child -- a daughter named Melina. Wadhwani is an American citizen and resides in Palo Alto, California.

Business and work
In a career spanning five decades, Wadhwani founded dozens of companies, his most notable ventures being Aspect Development and Symphony Technology Group. Aspect Development was sold for USD 9.3 billion in 2000. More recently, Wadhwani founded SymphonyAI in 2017, focusing on enterprise AI applications, and ConcertAI in 2022, which works in healthcare and life sciences.

Philanthropy
Wadhwani is also a known philanthropist, having founded the Wadhwani Foundation in 2000 with major focus on development work in India. He has also signed the Giving Pledge, committing to donate over 80% of his wealth. Besides, he has committed USD 1 billion to innovation in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI).

Net worth
Wadhwani has an estimated net worth of USD 5 billion or nearly Rs 43,000 crore as of May 2025, according to Forbes magazine, ranking him among the richest Indian-origin people in the US.