Akasa Air founder, top broker Rakesh Jhunjhunwala passes away at 62

Mumbai, Aug 14

Top broker-investor and founder of the recently-launched Akasa Air Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, passed away here on Sunday morning, a close friend said.

A Chartered Accountant by qualification and training, he was 62 and is survived by his wife Rekha and two children.

Often referred to as the 'King of Bulls' in the stock markets, Jhunjhunwala's latest venture Akasa Air's maiden flight took off exactly a week ago on August 7, last Sunday.

He had also shot into the limelight for his palace-like new residence coming up at Malabar Hill in south Mumbai, and had been on the board of several top companies..

Jhunjhunwala had an estimated net worth of $5.5 Billion (as of July 2022), which made him the 36th richest man in India. Jhunjhunwala was also chairman of Hungama Media and Aptech, as well as a director of Viceroy Hotels, Concord Biotech, Provogue India, and Geojit Financial Services.

Jhunjhunwala invested Rs 5,000 in capital in 1985 which grew to Rs 11,000 crore by September 2018.

The first big profit of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was Rs 5 lakh in 1986. Between 1986 and 1989, he earned almost Rs 20-25 lakh profit.

Akasa Air is an Indian airline co-founded by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and former Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dubey. The airline currently has two aircraft with additional order for 70 more aircraft and flies to three cities as of August 9.