Ritesh Aggarwal Net Worth: Co-Founder of Oyo

Ritesh Aggarwal, the youngest billionaire in India and the founder of OYO, has a net worth of over 16,000 crores. He founded OYO when he was only 21 years old, and in 10 years, OYO became one of the top hotel chains in the world, with an approximate valuation of over Rs. 330 crores.

Establishment of OYO rooms by Ritesh Agarwal:

Ritesh Agarwal established OYO Rooms in 2013. Ritesh founded OYO at the age of 19, with an initial investment of Rs. 82 lakh. The company began operations with only five hotels in Gurgaon, India.  OYO has swiftly expanded over the years, becoming one of the world’s largest hospitality chains. OYO provides a wide choice of budget-friendly and mid-range hotels.
In 2018, Agarwal raised USD 1 billion for his company, making him the youngest self-made billionaire in India. Following this achievement, he was named the world’s second self-made billionaire, behind Kylie Jenner.

Expansion of OYO rooms:

OYO began as Oravel Stays, a website for listing and booking affordable lodging. In 2013, Agarwal rebranded it OYO after earning a $100,000 grant from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s Thiel Fellowship, a program for young innovators. OYO operated a full-fledged hotel chain model, leasing and franchising assets.

It invested in capital expenditures, employed general managers to oversee operations and customer experience, and created job opportunities for hospitality professionals. OYO expanded into Malaysia in 2016, its first market outside of India. It also implemented dynamic pricing to profit on seasonality, demand surges, and special events.

In 2018 and 2019, OYO expanded into China, Indonesia, the UK, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. It also introduced new products and services, including OYO Townhouse, OYO Life, OYO Workspaces, OYO Wizard, and OYO OS. As of January 2020, OYO operated about 43,000 properties and 10 lakh rooms in 800 locations throughout 80 countries. It has more than 17,000 employees worldwide. OYO’s backers include SoftBank Group, Didi Chuxing, Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Hero Enterprise, Airbnb, and China Lodging Group.

Early Life and Educational Background:

Ritesh Aggarwal was born in Cuttack, Odisha and he grew up in Titilagarh. He completed his school education at St. John’s Senior Secondary School in Rajasthan. He attended the Indian School of Business and Finance in Delhi. But, he dropped out of school to pursue his ambitions in entrepreneurship. This decision indeed helped him to focus completely on his startup ventures.

In the year 2013, he was awarded with the Thiel Fellowship. This program was initiated by Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal. This fellowship offered $100,000 to young entrepreneurs who are under the age of 23 years to pursue their business ideas after dropping out of college. This fellowship actually offered him the mentorship and financial support to establish and build OYO rooms.

Achievements of Ritesh Aggarwal:

Ritesh Agarwal has received numerous prizes and distinctions for his work, including the Business World Young Entrepreneur Award. He is a regular speaker at entrepreneurial conferences and institutes in India and around the world, as well as a Thiel Foundation Fellow.

Ritesh Agarwal’s achievements are documented in his book Kaleidoscope, which contains approximately 25 award-winning short stories chosen from among several other pieces nominated in an online contest hosted by SpringTide. Aside from that, he enjoys traveling and taking long drives to unwind, as well as playing basketball when not at work.

Ritesh Agarwal focuses on scaling OYO’s global operations and exploring new verticals within the travel and hospitality industry. His involvement in investing and mentoring startups highlights his commitment to fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs. Under his leadership, OYO has expanded exponentially well, attracting significant investments from prominent firms.