3 IITB Alumni in 2010 Forbes Billionaire List
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani (78), Romesh Wadhwani (69), Chairman and CEO of Symphony Technology Group, and Bharat Desai (75), Founder and Chairman of Syntel Inc., are featured on the Forbes list of billionaires announced on March 10.
#721: Nandan Nilekani (Class of '78) & Family
Net Worth: $1.4 billion
Infosys co-founder stepped down as co-chairman of tech firm in July after he was tapped by the government to head the country's newly formed Unique Identification Authority of India, an ambitious project to provide ID numbers to all Indian residents. Appointment gave him the rank of a cabinet minister. Recent federal budget allocated $410 million for the mammoth project. He will also head the government's newly formed technology advisory group. Authored Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century. Along with wife Rohini, has donated $5 million to Yale University where both their children are students, to jump-start the University's Yale-India initiative. Continues to hold stake in Infosys.
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#721: Romesh T. Wadhwani (Class of 1969)
Net Worth: $1.4 bil
Rode tech bubble onto The Forbes 400 in 1999 with $9.3 billion sale of Aspect Development software firm to i2 Technologies. All-stock deal left fortune depleted 4 years later. Used remaining millions to start or acquire 9 business software and IT companies; clawed fortune back to ten-figures. Best investment: bought market-research company Information Resources 2003; former moneyloser now generates operating profit margins of 10%. Attended Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai. Moved to U.S. 1969, earned Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Carnegie Mellon. Founded Aspect 1991. Firm made software that allowed clients to track internal spending, inventory, buying behavior. Sold during dot-com exuberance. Uses little leverage to buy companies: "Financial engineering is not our game."
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#721: Bharat Desai (Class of 1975) and family
Net Worth: $1.4 bil
Born in Kenya, spent teens in India. Earned engineering degree from Indian Institute of Technology; moved to U.S. after landing programming job for Tata Consultancy Services in 1976. Founded outsourcing outfit Syntel in 1980 with wife, Neerja Sethi, while earning his M.B.A. from U. of Michigan. Public 1997; shares up 500% since. Revenues in 2009: $419 million, up 2% from 2008. Company now has 12,500 employees. Stepped down as chief executive last year; remains chairman. Played for India in 1994 bridge world championship. Recently established foundation supporting entrepreneurship and education.
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