Karsanbhai Patel
$6.14B
as of 10/04/24
About Karsanbhai Patel
Low-profile founder of Nirma, Karsanbhai Patel, started out mixing detergents in his backyard and selling them door-to-door on his bicycle.
His low-price Nirma brand sparked a detergents war with bigger rivals such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble.
Today Nirma is one of the largest producers of soda ash in the world by volume.
Patel has long handed over operations to the next generation and took the company private in 2012. His cement unit Nuvoco Vistas was listed in 2021.
In March 2024, Nirma completed the $680 million acquisition of a 75% stake in Glenmark Life Sciences, a maker of pharmaceutical ingredients.
Personal stats
Citizenship
IndiaSource of wealth
Consumer goodsResidence
Ahmedabad, IndiaMarital status
MarriedBirth date
01/07/44 (age 80)Number of children
3Self-made
self-madeKarsanbhai Patel’s fortune is worth
102K
troy ounces of gold
94K
median U.S. household
61K
median U.S. income
0.123%
U.S. credit card volume
0.025%
GDP of the United States
0.018%
United States debt
Net worth history
Annual ranking
Did you know?
Patel was born into a farmer's family in Gujarat and started his career as a lab assistant.
Net worth over time
Real-time ranking
Financial assets
BSE INDIA | 543322-IN
Glenmark Life SciencesBSE INDIA | 543334-IN
Nuvoco VistasImages © Forbes.com. All rights reserved.