Ajay Gopikisan Piramal (born 3 August 1955) is an Indian
billionaire businessman, and the chairman of the Piramal Group, a conglomerate with interests in pharmaceutical, financial services, real estate, healthcare analytics and glass packaging.[1][2] As of September 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$3 billion.[3]
Early life
Ajay Piramal was born to Gopikisan Piramal and Lalita Piramal in
Rajasthan, India on 3 August 1955. In 1977, at age 22, Piramal started out in his family's textile business, founded in 1934 by his grandfather Piramal Chatrabhuj. His father, Gopikisan Piramal, died in 1979, and after five years he lost an older brother to cancer, prompting him to take over the business.[4]
In 1988, Piramal bought Nicholas Laboratories, an Australian
multinational corporation. The company is now ranked fifth among pharma companies in India, having made a string of overseas acquisitions like the Indian subsidiaries of Roche, Boehringer Mannheim, Rhone Poulenc, ICI and Hoechst Research Centre. India's first major shopping mall, Crossroads, was developed from three redundant Piramal factory buildings in Mumbai.[9]
He led Piramal Enterprises Ltd invested in Vodafone India by buying 11% in two tranches. The first 5.5%, was bought in 2011 for Rs 2,856 crore and the second, the next year for Rs 3,007 crore to buy a 5.5% stake in Vodafone India for INR 30.07 billion ($618 million), taking the total stake to 11%.[10] In April 2014, Piramal Enterprises Ltd. sold its 11% stake for INR 8,900 crore, at a 51.78% premium to the price the company had paid in 2011–12.[11]
After selling his stake in Vodafone India, Piramal paid INR 2,014 crore to buy a 20% stake in Shriram Capital Ltd., an arm of the Chennai-based Shriram Group. The purchase was made in addition to INR 1,636 crore investment in Shriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd. for a 9.9% stake.[12] Piramal also serves as the Chairman of Shriram Group.[13]
Piramal announced in 2019 he planned to resign as chairman of Shriram Capital Ltd. He was named chairman five years earlier.[14]
India Innovator of the Year 2008 awarded by CNBC TV 18[35]
Entrepreneur of the Year' Award of UK Trade and Investment Council in 2006[36]
Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Healthcare and Life Sciences category in 2004[37]
"Business Leader Award" in Pharma Sector at the CHEMTECH PHARMABIO AWARD (2004);[38]
"Life Time Achievement Award" by The Rotary Club of Mumbai Mid-Town (2004)[39]
Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum (2004)
Rotary International (District 3140) Certificate of Appreciation and "Four Way Test Award" in 2001[40]
CEO of the Year Award' by World Strategy Forum (1999)[41]
Philanthropy
Piramal finances the Piramal Foundation.[42] The foundation is quoted as taking about 10–15% of his time.[43] The Piramal Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Piramal Group.[44]
The Piramal Foundation has initiatives across Health, Education and Safe Drinking Water, namely Piramal Swasthya,[45] Piramal Foundation for Education Leadership[46] and Piramal Sarvajal,[47] respectively. The Foundation works across 21 states in India, mostly in partnership with state governments.[48]
Piramal is among the Advisory Committee Members of Annamrita,
ISKCON Food Relief Foundation (IFRF)[49] that serves 1.2 million meals through its 20 kitchens across India every day.[50]
Personal life
Ajay Piramal is married to
Swati Shah Piramal.[51] They are the parents of two children. Their daughter, Nandini Piramal D'Young, married US citizen Peter D'Young in 2009.[52] Piramal's son, Anand Piramal, married Isha Ambani Piramal (née Ambani), daughter of billionaire businessman
Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani and his wife
Nita Dalal Ambani, on 12 December 2018.[53]
A wedding gift from Anand Piramal’s parents, Ajay and
Swati Piramal to their bride Isha Piramal, their home Gulita is sprawled across 50,000 square feet of floor space in Mumbai’s ultra-premium
Worli area and holds three basements, multiple dining rooms, an outdoor swimming pool, a garden, as well as a huge hall. The ground floor features an exquisite entrance lobby leading to a dining hall, a master bedroom, and more. The diamond-themed bungalow also has a diamond room and a temple room. [56][57] Facing the
Arabian Sea, the swanky mansion also offers a clear view of the
Bandra Worli sea-link.[58][59] Estimated to be worth $100 million today, Gulita was bought through an auction by Piramal from
Hindustan Unilever for $61.2 million in 2012. Ajay Piramal and his family started the remodeling work for the house in 2015. [60][61] Following the completion of the renovation work, the
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) gave an occupancy certificate to the grand property in September 2018. The interior is designed just as of
Antilia, the residence of Isha Ambani before marriage, which was also the second most luxurious and expensive house.[62][63]