The 61-year-old India-born billionaire Jay Chaudhry, who once studied under a tree in Himachal, has climbed 528 places in Hurun India Rich List 2021 to become one of India's top 10 richest businessmen. As per the prestigious list, Chaudhry saw his net worth climb by 271 per cent last year to $13 billion (9th richest Indian) as his family-owned Nasdaq-listed company Zscaler's valuation surged to $28 billion. Adoption of newer digital technologies amid coronavirus-infused restrictions helped Chaudhry's cybersecurity firm scale up operations.
The company's revenue for the second quarter of FY21 surged 55 per cent YoY to $157 million. Zscaler helps companies secure their IT and cloud infrastructure. Zscaler ensures data security for 400 of the Forbes Global 2000 companies. With over 5,000 customers worldwide, it has a workforce of over 2,600 employees.
Jay Chaudhry was born in a small village Panoh, Una district of Himachal Pradesh. However, this did not stop him from realising his American dreams. During his interview with The Tribune in 2000, Chaudhry had said he left for the US in the 80s with just $200 in his pocket.
Besides Chaudhry, there are a total of 208 Indian billionaires in the world, including 32 living outside the country, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2021. At least 61 billionaires in India reside in Mumbai, followed by Delhi with 40 and Bengaluru at 22. The richest of all is RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani with a net worth of $83 billion. He is also the second richest in Asia and ranks eighth on the global rich list.