India’s second richest man added $2.7 billion to his wealth beating slowdown and coronacrisis

• Radhakishan Damani catapulted into one of the top 10 richest after a blockbuster IPO listing of Avenue Supermarts in 2017.
  
• He is among the only three billionaires in India whose wealth rose in the last year.
  
• After its debut, the share price of Avenue Supermarts increased more than four times the listing price (₹616). Its current market capitalization is around ₹1.55 trillion crores.
  

India has 102 billionaires and 97 of them lost around a billion dollars each in the last one year. The data by Forbes includes the stock market meltdown of March, but it has rare exceptions like - D-Mart owner Radhakishan Damani.

He is among the only three billionaires in India whose wealth rose in the last year. According to Forbes, Damani added $2.7 billion to his fortunes which now stand at $13.8 billion — making him the second richest person in India after Mukesh Ambani.

Moreover, Damani net worth stood $16.4billion on April 10, up from $13.8 on March 18, according to Forbes real time net worth index.

Damani is the founder of Avenue Supermarts — the retail company which runs D-mart stores in India. The chain offers basic home and person use products, groceries, home appliances, garments and more at a bargain. He catapulted into one of the top 10 richest after a blockbuster IPO listing of Avenue Supermarts in 2017.

After its debut, the share price of Avenue Supermarts increased more than four times the listing price (₹616). Its current market capitalization is around ₹1.55 trillion crore. While shares of other billionaires including RIL dipped to a new low, the stock of Avenue Supermart surged nearly 31% this year.

‘Better placed to handle crisis’

In spite of its bull run, the stock was not immune to the Corona crash of markets in March. The share lost more than half of its rally in the last week of March but regained again.


In the last quarter ending December, D-Mart’s revenues grew 24%, indicating promising growth, As coronavirus slows the economy even further, Morgan Stanley predicted, D-Mart will have to slash prices further to retain market share.

Coronavirus also cast a shadow on D-Mart’s supply chain which could suffer due to a shortage of products in its stores in the coming future. However, given its position as one of the top players, it may be better placed to fend off the crisis compared to most of its peers.

However, Damani’s portfolio is not restricted to just D-Mart. He owns six other listed stocks with at least a 1% stake in the company including Delta Corp and Simplex Infrastructure. Despite the current market crash due to coronavirus, four of his seven stocks were trading in the green.

Recently, Damani contributed ₹100 crores to the PM-CARES Fund for the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. He also contributed ₹55 crores to several state relief funds.


See also: This man’s generosity crashed the wealth of Indian billionaires by $16 billion