In the patrilineal society of India, it has always been a harsh ride for female entrepreneurs. Those who have dared are few and those who have succeeded are even fewer. The disparity in wealth distribution based on gender is clearly visible when we view the list of India’s richest as presented by the Forbes Magazine. Only three women feature on the list including two women who have inherited the wealth from their male relatives and only one woman who has successfully built her own business from scratch. Here are the three power-women of India.
1. Savitri Jindal
Savitri Jindal is India’s wealthiest lady as per Forbes. Aged 69, she has a wealth of $8.35 billion.
She is the Chairperson Emeritus of the renowned Jindal Steel & Power Limited. She is India’s 16th richest person and the world’s 453rd richest person. Savitri Jindal inherited the company following the tragic death of her husband O.P. Jindal in a helicopter crash in 2005.
Savitri Jindal was born in Tinsukia, Assam on March 20, 1950. In the 1970s, she got married to O.P. Jindal who is the founder of the Jindal Group, a steel and power conglomerate. She has nine children.
Later in life, Savitri Jindal entered politics and won the elections twice from Hisar in 2005 and 2009. On October 29, 2013, she was appointed as the Haryana Government’s cabinet minister. However, she lost the seat in the 2014 elections.
2. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
India’s second richest woman is completely self-made. She has wealth of $3.6 billion.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is an entrepreneur who is the chairperson and managing director of the Bangalore-based biotechnology company Biocon Limited. She also chairs IIM Bangalore. The Financial Times has included her in the list of “top 50 women in business”. She is also listed among the most powerful women in the world.
Kiran Mazumdar was born in Bangalore to Indian parents on March 23, 1953. She did her graduation in biological sciences from Bangalore University and then did a masters in brewery sciences from Australia. For a while, she worked as a brewer in Australia and then returned to India where she worked in the brewing industry as a master brewer. However, she faced a lot of discrimination in an industry that was considered in India to be a “man’s world.” She was again looking for opportunities abroad when she met Leslie Auchincloss founder of the Ireland-based Biocon Biochemicals Limited. Leslie offered her the opportunity of opening an Indian subsidiary to produce enzymes used in textile, food-packing, and brewing industries.
After receiving her training in Ireland, Kiran Mazumdar returned to India to start Biocon India in 1978 in her rented home’s garage. As per Indian laws that restrict foreign ownership of India-based companies, she owned 70% of the company in India.
In her initial years, she faced numerous technical, infrastructural, and financial issues. However, with her skills and wit, she quickly overcame the limitations and within a year, her company was exporting manufactured enzymes to Europe and the US. Soon, her business expanded and Biocon India grew into a full-blown bio-pharmaceutical company. Biocon also has a well-established R&D sector.
In 1998, Kiran Mazumder married Scotsman John Shaw and she became known as Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
3. Leena Tiwari
India’s third richest woman, Leena Tiwari, is described as media-shy. She owns a fortune of $2.52 billion which she inherited from her father Arvind Gandhi.
Leena Tiwari is the chairperson of USV India, a pharma company set up by her late grandfather, V.B. Gandhi in 1960 as a joint venture with the US-based drug maker US Vitamins & Pharmaceuticals Inc. He then passed on the reigns of the company to his son which was later inherited by Leena Tiwari. The company specializes in the production of cardiovascular and diabetic drugs. She runs the company with her husband who is a mechanical engineer and IITian.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/india-billionaires/list/#tab:women
1. Savitri Jindal
Savitri Jindal is India’s wealthiest lady as per Forbes. Aged 69, she has a wealth of $8.35 billion.
She is the Chairperson Emeritus of the renowned Jindal Steel & Power Limited. She is India’s 16th richest person and the world’s 453rd richest person. Savitri Jindal inherited the company following the tragic death of her husband O.P. Jindal in a helicopter crash in 2005.
Savitri Jindal was born in Tinsukia, Assam on March 20, 1950. In the 1970s, she got married to O.P. Jindal who is the founder of the Jindal Group, a steel and power conglomerate. She has nine children.
Later in life, Savitri Jindal entered politics and won the elections twice from Hisar in 2005 and 2009. On October 29, 2013, she was appointed as the Haryana Government’s cabinet minister. However, she lost the seat in the 2014 elections.
2. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
![Science History Institute [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kiran_Mazumdar-Shaw_HD2014_crop.jpg){kind=link}
India’s second richest woman is completely self-made. She has wealth of $3.6 billion.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is an entrepreneur who is the chairperson and managing director of the Bangalore-based biotechnology company Biocon Limited. She also chairs IIM Bangalore. The Financial Times has included her in the list of “top 50 women in business”. She is also listed among the most powerful women in the world.
Kiran Mazumdar was born in Bangalore to Indian parents on March 23, 1953. She did her graduation in biological sciences from Bangalore University and then did a masters in brewery sciences from Australia. For a while, she worked as a brewer in Australia and then returned to India where she worked in the brewing industry as a master brewer. However, she faced a lot of discrimination in an industry that was considered in India to be a “man’s world.” She was again looking for opportunities abroad when she met Leslie Auchincloss founder of the Ireland-based Biocon Biochemicals Limited. Leslie offered her the opportunity of opening an Indian subsidiary to produce enzymes used in textile, food-packing, and brewing industries.
After receiving her training in Ireland, Kiran Mazumdar returned to India to start Biocon India in 1978 in her rented home’s garage. As per Indian laws that restrict foreign ownership of India-based companies, she owned 70% of the company in India.
In her initial years, she faced numerous technical, infrastructural, and financial issues. However, with her skills and wit, she quickly overcame the limitations and within a year, her company was exporting manufactured enzymes to Europe and the US. Soon, her business expanded and Biocon India grew into a full-blown bio-pharmaceutical company. Biocon also has a well-established R&D sector.
In 1998, Kiran Mazumder married Scotsman John Shaw and she became known as Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
3. Leena Tiwari
India’s third richest woman, Leena Tiwari, is described as media-shy. She owns a fortune of $2.52 billion which she inherited from her father Arvind Gandhi.
Leena Tiwari is the chairperson of USV India, a pharma company set up by her late grandfather, V.B. Gandhi in 1960 as a joint venture with the US-based drug maker US Vitamins & Pharmaceuticals Inc. He then passed on the reigns of the company to his son which was later inherited by Leena Tiwari. The company specializes in the production of cardiovascular and diabetic drugs. She runs the company with her husband who is a mechanical engineer and IITian.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/india-billionaires/list/#tab:women
No comments:
Post a Comment