Meet India's richest businessman ever and it's not Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, Gautam Adani or Dhirubhai Ambani

Indians have always remained at the centre of many things throughout history even though we got independence only in 1947. It is a fact that Indians have always remained very active in business and we have given many good businessmen to the world.

Virji Vora was one such businessman who was a big name during the Mughal rule and is called the richest businessman in the world ever by British East India Company. According to experts, Virji Vora was a big financier of the East India Company between 1617 and 1670.

Born in 1590, Virji Vora passed away in 1670. He was a wholesale trader and according to reports his personal wealth at that time was about Rs 8 million, which means that he was without doubt the richest businessman India has ever seen. According to historical journals, Virji Vora used to deal in several products, including pepper, gold, cardamom and other things.

Virji Vora used to have a lot of business dealing with the British between 1629 and 1668 and this helped him built his business empire.

Virji Vora was a “sole monopolist” who often used to buy the entire stock of a product and sell them at a huge profit.

Virji Vora was also a money lender and he used to often lent money to those English men who were willing to pursue their own private businesses.

It is said that when Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was facing financial crisis during his war to conquer Deccan region of India, he sent his emissary to Virji Vohra seeking money. Virji Vohra had once gifted four Arab horses to Mughal king Shah Jahan.