Nikhil Kamath Biography, Age, Height, Education, Net Worth, Parents
This is the age of entrepreneurship and trading—a route that can change lives with minimal investment, smart analysis, and a little bit of luck.
India has one of the best fintech and brokerage firms: Zerodha. It is a self-funded venture established by brothers Nikhil Kamath and Nithin Kamath.
But how did these brothers change the trading game scenario in India? What has been the role of Nikhil Kamath in taking the company to the greatest heights and also being an inspiration for the youth across the country?
In this post, we will get to learn more about Nikhil Kamath, his contribution toward Zerodha and how he has inspired India's youth to become entrepreneurs.
Table of Contents
Who Is Nikhil Kamath?
Zerodha and Nikhil Kamath
Nithin Kamath
The Self-Funded Success of Zerodha
Family
Relationships
Education
Social Media Presence
Nikhil Kamath's Podcast
Net Worth
Controversies
Preferred Mobile Brand
Achievements
Recreation
Interesting Facts
1. Who is Nikhil Kamath?
Nikhil Kamath, born on 5th September 1986, in Hassan, Karnataka, is a founder at Zerodha-the fintech giant company of India. Born and brought up in a middle-class family, he showed a great interest in finance which emerged because of his dad's banking profession.
Nikhil transformed his technical aptitude and knowledge about the struggles of the middle class into a revolutionary business idea; along with his brother, Nithin, Nikhil started Zerodha to make trading easy and more affordable.
Aside from Zerodha, Nikhil is keenly interested in entrepreneurship and innovation regarding fintech and trading businesses.
2. Zerodha and Nikhil Kamath
Zerodha, founded on 15 August 2010, is a combination of "Zero" and "Rodha" (Sanskrit for "barrier"), which means it does not want to create a barrier to trading.
Zerodha, with more than 1 crore clients, caters to more than 15% of India's retail trading volume. One of the largest brokerage houses in India, Zerodha provides low-cost stock, commodity, and currency trading services, powered by technology, clarity, and excellent customer care.
Nikhil Kamath, being a co-founder, plays an important role in strategy, innovation, and public relations. His leadership and the collaborations with industry leaders have cemented Zerodha's reputation.
3. Nithin Kamath
Nithin Kamath is the elder brother and serves as the CEO of Zerodha. While Nikhil focuses on strategy and innovation, Nithin takes care of risk, business development, and overall decision-making. They have built a self-funded, profitable enterprise that keeps growing.
4. Zerodha: A Bootstrapped Unicorn
Zerodha is unique in its journey. The Kamath brothers bootstrapped the whole company by reinvesting profits to grow rather than seeking funding from external sources. This approach has made the company profitable and sustainable, hence turning it into a unicorn valued over $1 billion.
5. Family
Nikhil Kamath is a child of a middle-class, very supportive family. His father was a banker- the late U.R. Kamath; and his mother a homemaker-Revathi. Nikhil ascribes much of his success to his family.
6. Marital Life
Nikhil Kamath got married to Amanda Puravankara in 2019, who is the director of Provident Housing Limited but separated after one year. Nikhil Kamath is presently unmarried and keeps a distance from marriage rather than getting busy in his career as well as from personal growth.
7. Education
He graduated from St. Aloysius High School in Mangalore and only completed the 10th grade there, but his education would go on as he was to learn from experiences where his skills and knowledge would be groomed in that manner.
8. Social Media Profile
Nikhil is active on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube as these have given a glimpse into the world of finance, technology, and entrepreneurship from him.
Instagram: 720k followers
YouTube: 750k subscribers
Twitter: 334k followers
9. Nikhil Kamath's Podcast
Nikhil has a podcast called WTF IS? where he discusses everything from business to technology, gaming, and sustainability. The podcast is attended by industry leaders and celebrities who share their views with the listeners.
10. Net Worth
Nikhil is the youngest billionaire in India with a net worth of $3.1 billion. His annual salary is ₹72 crore and he has vowed to donate 50% of his wealth to causes like climate change, education, and healthcare.
11. Controversies
He is surrounded by some controversy on:
Chess Match Scandal: Nikhil admitted to using chess engines in a charity match with Vishwanathan Anand.
WhatsApp Scams: Traders portrayed him as peddling trading schemes and denounced these publicly
12. Mobile Company
Nikhil is fond of Samsung mainly because of the innovativeness and quality they exhibit. As such, he keeps updating to a new model if available.
13. Honors
The youngest billionaire in India
Features at the "Forbes' 100 Youngest Billionaires".
listed as one of the "40 Under 40 Entrepreneurs" at Fortune India 2023
14. Hobbies
Apart from watching movies, Nikhil enjoys playing chess, finance analysis, and podcasting.
15. Interesting Facts
He speaks Kannada and Hindi.
He has pledged half of his wealth to philanthropy.
Recently met the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi to discuss Fintech developments
FAQ
Q1. How educated is Nikhil Kamath?
Answer: He did only his 10th grade. Primarily self-educated
Q2. What is Zerodha?
A: Zerodha was launched on August 15, 2010, so it is over 14 years old.
Q3: Which is Nikhil's mother tongue?
A: Kannada.