Indian billionaire and Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal was recently invited to Cambridge University to address and inspire the students. Today, most of us know Anil Agarwal as a mining tycoon and top industrialist but very few of us know that he is a self-made man and nothing was served to him on a silver platter but he achieved success due to his work and stubborn attitude.
Born in Patna in a Marwadi family, Anil Agarwal started his career as a scrap dealer in 1970. After completing his high school in Patna, the Vedanta Chairman didn't continue with his education in 1970. Instead, he decided to help his father Dwarka Prasad Agarwal with his aluminium conductor business.
The man who ran a tiny scrap metal business four decades back has now become one of India's wealthiest tycoons with a business empire spread across mining and petroleum.
Agarwal bought Shamsher Sterling Corporation in 1976. A decade later, he set up Sterlite Industries, which became India’s first private sector company to set up a copper smelter and refinery in 1993. Agarwal ventured into mining a few years later and purchased 51% stake in Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) and a majority share (almost 65%) in government-owned HZL (Hindustan Zinc Limited).
In the year 2003, Agarwal incorporated Vedanta Resources in London to evaluate international capital. The company is a globally diversified natural resources conglomerate, with interests in zinc, lead, silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium, power generation, and oil and gas.
Recently, while addressing the students at Cambridge Agarwal said, "I spent my 20s and 30s struggling looking at others and wondering when I will get there one day and most importantly how after 9 failed businesses and years of depression, I have my 1st successful start-up."
On June 23, 2023, Anil Agarwal took to Twitter and said: “As someone who never went to college, being invited to Cambridge university and speaking with the students was nothing short of a dream… I was surrounded by bright 20 year olds who firmly shook my hands and introduced themselves with a big smile…i remember when i was their age, i was a little awkward and shy…never felt presentable enough and spoke tooti footi english. looking at their confidence made me very inspired
I was asked how i founded my company, how i managed to crack big business deals but the answer to these questions have always been in my failures…how i spent my 20s and 30s struggling looking at others and wondering when i will get there one day and most importantly how after 9 failed businesses and years of depression, i had my 1st successful start up The only message i passed to them was to never give up. you don’t need a degree, family background or good english to be successful. sure these things help but what will truly make you different from others is your stubbornness towards your dreams…be ziddi, be fearless.”
Anil Agarwal net worth:
Agarwal is widely known for his motivational posts on social media platforms and has 176.2K followers on Twitter. According to Forbes, his net worth is $2.01 Billion. Agarwal has reportedly pledged to give away 75% of his wealth to charity. In 2021, he signed the Giving Pledge.