Teachers’ Day: Top 5 Lessons From Veteran Investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala began his journey in share market with just Rs 5000 way back in 1985. He used to hear his father discussing about the stock markets with his friends and soon started taking keen interest. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's father asked him to read newspapers every day to understand trends in share markets. His father did not permit him to take money from his friends and did not give him any financial help as well to invest in share markets.

Later, Jhunjhunwala borrowed money from his father's client with the promise to return the sum with better returns. And, this is how his journey began in share market. He invested Rs 5000 in 1985.

Jhunjhunwala experienced massive success in the share market and probably this is the reason why he was frequently referred to as the Warren Buffet and Big Bull of Dalal Street. The ace investor earned huge profit in 1986 after he bought 5000 shares of Tata Tea at Rs 43 and in just 3 months the shares more than tripled to Rs 143.

"It's not a fitting comparison (with Warren Buffett)," Jhunjhunwala once reportedly told Reuters in an interview in 2012. "In terms of wealth and success and maturity, he's far, far ahead."

In the last one year after his demise on August 14, 2022, Jhunjhunwala's portfolio has grown considerably. The net worth of his portfolio stood at Rs 25,397.54 crore at the end of the June 2022 quarter which swelled to Rs 38,366.4 crore by the end of the June 2023 quarter, as per data available from Trendlyne.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's major investment was in Titan Company which was estimated to be approximately more than Rs 7000 crore till 2022. Titan is a Tata Group company. He also ventured into the aviation industry with Akasa Air which took flight on August 7, 2022.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala passed away due to sudden cardiac arrest on August 14, 2022. He was brought dead to the Mumbai's Breach Candy at 6:45 am on August 14, 2022. According to Dr Pratit Samdani, Breach Candy Hospital, "Rakesh Jhunjhunwala had a sudden cardiac arrest which was the cause of his death."

Jhunjhunwala was suffering from chronic kidney disease and was also diabetic, added Dr Pratit Samdani. "He was also suffering from chronic kidney disease, was on chronic dialysis, and was responding well. He was diabetic and had recently undergone an angioplasty," said Dr Pratit Samdani.

Check 5 important facts about Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

1. The leading ace trader and -investor was often dubbed as the the Big Bull of Dalal Street, and reportedly had a net worth of approximately $5.8 billion. Junjhunwala was the 36th richest billionaire in India, according to Forbes' 2021.

2. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala formed an alliance with ex-Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube and former IndiGo head Aditya Ghosh to launch Akasa Air and it took its first flight earlier last year in August 2022.

3. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was born on 5th July 1960 in a Rajasthani family based in Mumbai. The ace investor's father was a government officer and worked as the Commissioner of Income Tax. Jhunjhunwala used to hear his father discuss about stock market and developed keen interest in it. His father encouraged him to read newspaper regularly to find about the trends of stock market. His first investment in stock market began with Rs 5000 in 1985. Over the years, he emerged as the leading investor and popularly known as the Big Bull of Dalal Street.

4. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala held several positions that included the chairman of Hungama Media and Aptech. Jhunjhunwala was also the among the board of directors of leading brands namely Concord Biotech, Provogue, Viceroy, and Geogit Financials Services.
5. Jhunjhunwala used to donate 25% of his earnings towards charity. In 2020, he contributed of 25% of his wealth to charity.

Important Lessons To Learn From Rakesh Jhunjhunwala:

Learn About Stock Market Instead Of Relying On Stock Market Tips: The ace investor always believed in developing a passion for stock market. He always believed that one can never develop a passion for share market if they rely on stock market tips. He emphasized on research by reading and discussing with others who are in the business of investing.

Patience: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was full of patience and it played a key role in his success. He maintained calm when stock market experienced major turmoil. He always believed in taking time before making bets and discouraged emotional investments without effective research as he felt it would lead to losses.

Choose Right Company: The renowned investor always believed in selecting the right company as he felt that if the company is strong enough, its stock price will finally rise. He always insisted one should never run behind companies that are popular and refrained from buying stocks that are hot commodity in the share market. He always felt that investors must go for fundamentally strong stocks instead of popular ones. He said most people in share market follow herd mentality and buy stocks that are popular which he felt not right.

Good Judgement: Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment, said Jhunjhunwala. He always stressed that theoretical knowledge was important but the true genius of investing is experience. Learning from missteps and setbacks is most important.

Opportunities: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala always believed that investors should be ready to grab an opportunity. He said that opportunities are created through the various ups and downs in the share market. Jhunjhunwala purchased stocks at a discount while they were undervalued in the market during the 2008 global financial crisis. According to Jhunjhunwala, one can never make money if they are afraid to lose it. Stock market success depends upon your character and temperament instead of any other factors.