10 Rich & Famous MBA Graduates in India. That 99% don't Know

Ashneer Grover
Indra Nooyi
Kunal Shah
Aman Gupta
Satya Nadella
Sundar Pichai
Isha Ambani
Randeep Hooda
Sharan Hegde
Ankur Warikoo

There are two main ways to earn substantial wealth: owning a wide-ranging business, or investing in a successful one. Regular jobs and freelancing only provide income while you’re actively working. Therefore, achieving significant wealth and desired positions often stems from business, not employment. To build a successful business or become an adept investor, it’s important to have an educational foundation in business management. As proof, many of India’s richest personalities have an MBA background, as we’ll discuss in this post.

List of 10 Famous MBA’s in India:

1. Ashneer Grover:

Yeah, he’s the “Doglapan” guy. The first season of “Shark Tank India” brought him to the limelight but his success was never bound with his fame. Being a sharp student from a young age, he got into two of the most prestigious institutes in India and finished his MBA degree in 2006. Later on with his amazing negotiation skills and deep understanding of business, he got to work with various high-value MNCs, and startups and also built his own startup, Bharat Pay.

2. Indra Nooyi:

She’s the “Superstar Boss Lady”. Indra Nooyi is super smart, having studied at top B-schools in India and then at Yale in the US. She climbed the ladder and became the big boss, known as the CEO, at PepsiCo in 2006. During her time there, she not only made the company a lot of money but also pushed for healthier drinks and being kind to the environment. She left PepsiCo in 2018, but that didn’t slow her down. People around the world admire her and are excited to see what awesome things she will do next. She’s like a superwomen in the business world!

3. Kunal Shah:

Ah, there he is – the “Fintech Wizard”. Kunal Shah, a Mumbai lad, turned the financial industry on its head. Unlike many tech gurus, Kunal doesn’t boast an IIT tag and didn’t even complete his MBA but, whoa, that didn’t stop him. He co-founded FreeCharge in 2010, which later on was acquired by Snapdeal in 2015 for a sweet $400 million. But hold on, Kunal was far from done. He put his thinking cap back on and in 2018, popped up with CRED, a swanky app that rewards you for just paying your credit card bills. Talk about making dull tasks fun! He’s not just an entrepreneur, but a deep thinker, whose social media is loaded with nuggets of wisdom. Kunal Shah, the Fintech Wizard, continues to dazzle with his mix of finance, tech, and a whole lot of ingenuity.

4. Aman Gupta:

Aman Gupta, with a solid educational foundation, hit all the right notes in the audio industry. He sharpened his intellect and business acumen by pursuing his Bachelor’s in Commerce and later an MBA, which became the launchpad for his entrepreneurial journey. This education whiz knew the importance of combining book smarts with street smarts. In 2016, he co-founded boAt – the brand that turned India into a new wave of audio lifestyle. His background in business studies helped him grasp market trends, customer needs, and the art of brand-building. Aman didn’t just create earphones; he crafted an experience that had India tapping its feet to the boAt groove. With his educational prowess and entrepreneurial zeal harmonizing perfectly.

5. Satya Nadella:

Meet the “Cloud Commander”. Satya Nadella, a master of computer science and business administration, is the visionary behind Microsoft’s renaissance. Born in India, Satya’s love for technology led him to pursue engineering, and later, he conquered the cloud-scapes with an MS in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the University of Chicago. His amalgamation of both tech and business skills brought Microsoft huge success under his aegis as a CEO since 2014.

6. Sundar Pichai:

Here’s the “Tech Trailblazer”. Sundar Pichai, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and later Stanford and Wharton, is the genius steering the Google ship. A quiet boy from Chennai, India, Sundar’s astuteness in materials science and engineering propelled him to the epicenter of technology. As Google’s CEO since 2015, he’s the guardian of the internet’s most powerful entity. From Chrome to Google Drive, his Midas touch is on products that millions can’t imagine a day without.

7. Isha Ambani:

Presenting the “Heiress of Innovation”. Isha Ambani, the scion of the Ambani empire, is not just an heiress but an emerging leader. A graduate of Yale University, with a degree in Psychology and South Asian Studies, she’s been instrumental in transforming the retail and telecom landscape in India through Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail. With her global education and innate business acumen, she’s crafting her chapter in the tome of the Ambani legacy.

8. Randeep Hooda:

Lights, camera, and the “Thespian Maestro”. Randeep Hooda, a man whose craft transcends the screen, is a celebrated Bollywood actor. With a master’s in Business Management and Human Resource Management from Australia, he’s not just an actor but a man of intellect. Known for his versatile roles and dedication to his craft, Randeep balances the charm of an actor with the acumen of an entrepreneur, also passionately indulging in equestrian sports and wildlife conservation.

9. Sharan Hegde:

A rising finance content creator in India who has redefined the finance content India used to consume. By adding humor and skits into his content he has made even the monotonous finance topics easy to understand. Sharan completed his bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering, then shifted into the business world and joined Columbia Business School to pursue an MBA degree which he dropped out to work on his startup the 1% club. He is one of the most inspirational people to look up to as a successful student and founder.

10. Ankur Warikoo:

Ankur Warikoo, a scholar and a strategist, zoomed into the startup cosmos with nearbuy.com, turning local shopping into a snazzy affair. He’s got some heavy academic chops, with degrees from ISB and Michigan State, and oh boy, he knows how to hustle. His brainchild, nearbuy.com, made stepping out and grabbing deals in your city as easy as a click. It’s like he mapped out all the cool spots and offers, and handed it over on a platter. But wait, he’s not just about deals and steals. Ankur is also a mentor and an inspiration, with his social media filled with wisdom nuggets for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Developing highly sought-after skills or expertise in a specific field can lead to lucrative opportunities which MBAs build up in their graduates. This could involve becoming a top professional in your industry, providing consulting services, or offering specialized training. Ultimately, the key to financial success lies in identifying your strengths, interests, and opportunities, and choosing a career path that aligns with your goals and circumstances that best matches the market need. Also, MBAs help in combining multiple approaches or exploring unconventional avenues that can also lead to financial success. Therefore, there are various avenues to achieve financial success and MBAs help you develop the skillset or guide your paths to potentially generate substantial wealth.