Ratan Tata remembers Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, calls him 'jovial personality'

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was a person with acute understanding of the stock exchanges of India, Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Group, said today, remembering the ace investor who died this morning.

"Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who sadly passed away this morning, will always be remembered for his acute understanding of the stock exchanges of India. He will also be remembered for his jovial personality, his kindness, and his forsightedness. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family which has to share the burden of his great loss," the veteran industrialists said.

Jhunjhunwala died at the age of 62, a week after the launch of his ultra-low cost airline, Akasa Air.

He is survived by his wife, whom he used to call his only client, and three children. He leaves stakes in around three dozen Indian companies and a legacy of quoting one-liners like "the trend is your friend" and "the only rule I have is there are no rules".

Popularly known as India’s own Warren Buffet kicked start his career in the stock market in 1985 with an initial capital of Rs 5,000. At present, the value of his equity portfolio together with his wife Rekha Jhunjhunwala stands at over Rs 30,000 crore.

"All I've known is trading and investing. I don’t want to do anything else in life," Jhunjhunwala told news agency Reuters 10 years ago. "I'll call it quits the day I die."