An exemplary entrepreneur, industrialist and philanthropist Shiv Nadar, the founder of HCL Technologies, celebrates his 78th birthday today, on July 14. He is one of India’s self-made billionaires, whose farsightedness and pioneering decisions delivered the first personal computer in India. He is also one of the biggest visionaries who helped India to emerge as one of the leading players in the Information Technology sector globally.

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He is also a well-known philanthropist who has founded several charitable organisations including the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which focuses on education and rural development.

On his 78th birthday, here’s a look at his career growth and net worth.

After completing his engineering from PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Nadar began his career at the Walchand group's Cooper Engineering in 1967 in Pune.

He then moved to a job at Delhi Cloth Mills’ digital products division.

In 1975, he started his own venture called MicroComp Limited, along with his friends and colleagues. There were 8 partners including Nadar, who was the largest shareholder of the company.

The company initially focused on selling tele-digital calculators.

In 1976, Nadar saw an opportunity in the computer market of India as IBM was leaving the country.

He founded Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL) with an initial investment of Rs 18,700. The Uttar Pradesh government supported his vision with an additional grant of Rs 20 lakh in exchange for a 26 percent stake in the company making HCL the first Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

HCL introduced the first PC called HCL 8C in India in 1978 before IBM and Apple Inc could do so.

Further, sensing a boom in the IT sector, Nadar expanded his business internationally to Singapore to provide IT services.

By 1979, HCL was worth Rs 3 crore achieving sales of Rs 10 lakh in the very first year.

In 2022, HCL had revenue of $11.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Nadar is also a great philanthropist as he founded the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which focuses on education and rural development.

It runs the VidyaGyan schools, which provide free education to underprivileged children in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh.

He also reportedly donates to several charitable causes. Shiv Nadar gave up his role as the chairman of HCL Technologies in 2020, as he was succeeded by his daughter, Roshni Nadar Malhotra.

His Net Worth

According to Bloomberg, Shiv Nadar’s net worth is estimated to be around $25.9 billion, which makes him one of the richest persons in India and the world.

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)