Obituary: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (1960-2022)

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, 62, ace investor and a founder patron of Gateway House, died on 14^th August, 2022.

Rakesh had the knack of picking good long term investments, and he believed Gateway House was one of them. An emerging and confident India needed its own intellectual heft, blended with the creativity and pragmatism that Mumbai offered. A home-grown investor could see the value of home-grown intellectual, institutional entrepreneurship.

I first met Rakesh Jhunjhunwala in the late 1990s, as a business reporter. I was introduced to him by a source, who whispered to me, “You are about to meet a very interesting person, listen to him carefully and with patience.” Rakesh did not disappoint. Then little-known, he operated on insight and instinct, the latter a thought process that is not fully comprehended by outsiders.

A few years later, a second exposure to Rakesh came when he sold 5% of Crisil, India’s top rating agency, to Standard & Poors owned by the mighty McGraw-Hill Companies, after a tough negotiation. This was the deal that defined Rakesh’s philosophy and gave him a public profile. He knew the value of what he had, and wasn’t about to undersell a pioneering and successful Indian endeavour.

It was natural for Gateway House to invite Rakesh to explain the turmoil in the global financial markets in August 2011, when the U.S.’ sovereign rating was downgraded. He was confident even then, that India would ride out the cycle.

The hour before the meeting began, Rakesh looked around the modest premises of Gateway House and asked, “Is this Of India, By India, For India?” We replied affirmatively, and asked for his support.

His generous cheque arrived the very next day – no questions asked.

This was the essence of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, believer in India.

Over the years, Rakesh’s stature and success grew, but he remained the same. Unlike his local Mumbai contemporaries who were brokers – J. M. Financial, DSP, Motilal Oswal, Edelweiss – which grew into financial conglomerates and compete with the big boys on Wall Street, Rakesh stayed true to his calling of being purely an investor.

Commentators often called Rakesh the Warren Buffet of India – a likening he objected to. Buffet operated and grew in a stable market and economy. Rakesh operated and grew in an emerging economy, a torchlight in a country that was naturally entrepreneurial but undergoing multiple and significant transitions. Rakesh was not an Indian Buffet, he was not a copycat. He was unique.

Rakesh was with Gateway House for all its firsts – as a panellist for our first Think20 meeting, on the stage for our signature Gateway of India Geoeconomic Dialogue to discuss sovereign funds and their strategic imperative. He occasionally called to ask a geopolitical question or send us young talent.

Gateway House will miss a well-wisher and a benefactor. Mumbai will miss an original force in investing. India will miss its biggest believer.

Om Shanti.

Manjeet Kripalani is Executive Director at Gateway House

This article was exclusively written for Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations. You can read more exclusive content here.

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