Meet Delhi's richest man, started business from garage, beat Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, Gautam Adani in...

Even as we celebrate global tech moguls, we often miss out on Indian entrepreneurs who have pioneered the IT industry in the country and put Indian technologies on the global map. One such visionary is Shiv Nadar, the cofounder of HCL Technologies -- one of India's largest software services providers.
He stepped down as chairperson of HCL in 2020 but still serves as the company's chairman emeritus and strategic advisor.
Here's his story.

Personal life
79-year-old Nadar was born in 1945 in Moolaipozhi village in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. He is married to the art collector and philanthropist Kiran Nadar -- the founder of the famed Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA). Their daughter is Roshni Nadar Malhotra, the current chairperson of HCL.
Nadar holds a pre-university degree from American College in Madurai and a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore.
He is known as "Magus” (Persian for wizard) among his friends. Nadar primarily resides in Delhi and reportedly owns a home in the the upscale Friends Colony East area of the capital city.

Business
Nadar cofounded Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL) in 1976 with an investment of Rs 1.87 lakh and an initial focus on developing calculators and microprocessors. The company was operating out of a garage at that time.
Over the decades, the company has been transformed from a hardware concern into a global tech giant, having presence in 60 countries and employing over 2,00,000 people as of 2024.

Net worth
Nadar has an estimated net worth of over USD 31 billion or Rs 2.68 lakh crore, according to Forbes, which ranks him among the 50 wealthiest people in the world.
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2008 -- India’s third-highest civilian honor -- for contributions to the IT industry.

Philanthropy
Nadar established the Shiv Nadar Foundation in 1994 to focus on education and research, investing more than USD 1.5 billion by 2024 and impacting over 39,000 students and alumni.
He is said to have donated more money than even Asia's richest person Mukesh Ambani.
Educational institutions that have been set up by Nadar include the Shiv Nadar University, the SSN College of Engineering, Shiv Nadar Schools, and VidyaGyan Schools.