Azim Premji, at 75, would have been India's second richest man but he gave up a lot
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- Premji is one of the world’s most generous billionaires and has also opened his heart and purse strings as India fights the Covid-19 pandemic.
- His charitable initiative — Azim Premji Foundation and Wipro — the IT major he founded — set aside ₹1125 crore to fight the pandemic. This is the biggest donation made by any billionaire in India so far.
- Here’s a look at Azim Premji’s salary over the years and net worth shows the Wipro founder is India’s most generous billionaire
Premji would have been the second richest man in India after Mukesh Ambani had he not donated 75% of his wealth to charity.
According to Forbes, the wealth of all billionaires in India shrunk by 23% to $313 billion from $406 billion last year. A part of this happened because Premji’s wealth decreased from $22.6 billion in 2019 to $6.1 billion.
A look at Indian tech magnate’s salary, net worth and philanthropic activities
He is one of the pioneers of the multi-billion dollar Indian IT industry. He spearheaded Wipro for 53 years after his return from Stanford University in 1966, at the age of 21.
He transformed a small hydrogenated cooking fat firm into a $8.5 billion global IT powerhouse. All this while, he led the transformation of his non-IT arm Wipro Enterprises into a global FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), infrastructure engineering and medical devices leader with a revenue of $2 billion in 2018-19.
Premji dropped out of Stanford University to handle the business after his father’s death. However, he did return to Stanford 34 years later, to complete his graduation in electrical engineering.
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He was honoured with Padma Vibhushan — one of the country’s highest honours — for his contribution to the IT industry in India.
He was also ranked 9th in the list of India's 50 most powerful people of 2017 by India Today.
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He donated $2.2 billion of his total wealth in 2013 to set up the Azim Premji Foundation. He also received the ET Lifetime Achievement Award.
As of now, his total contribution to philanthropy stands at $21 billion, and that includes 67% stake in Wipro.
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Premji was conferred with an honorary doctorate by Mysore University.
Net worth (2015):$19.1 billion
Wipro's Profit : ₹86,528 million
Azim Premji's salary - ₹47.8 million (-53%)
In 2016, Azim Premji earned a total of $121,853 in the year 2016-17, according to a US SEC.
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While Premji’s pay package saw a huge drop of 63% at $1,21,853 (about Rs 79 lakh) last fiscal, Wipro expanded its operations to London.
In 2018, Wipro was awarded with a landmark 10-year contract worth $1.6 billion from Alight Solutions of Illinois.
Net worth(2018): $18.8 billion
Wipro's Profit: ₹80,081 million
Azim Premji's salary - ₹8.7 million (+10.13%)
In the same year, Premji was conferred with Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) – the highest French civilian distinction by the French government.
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In March 2019, Azim Premji donated 35% of Wipro shares worth $7.5 billion to a charitable trust.
Net worth (2019): $22.6 billion
Wipro's Profit : ₹90,031 million
Azim Premji's salary - ₹18 million (+106.85%)
In July 2019, he also decided to move on from Wipro. Premji will remain the firm's non-executive director for five years until July 2024.
SEE ALSO:
Mukesh Ambani is now the fifth richest person in the world, according to Forbes
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