Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao Net Worth: Founder & Chairman of GMR Group

Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao, the man the world came to know as G. M. Rao, is one of the top industrialists in India and is known for his contributions to different sectors of the economy. He is someone who was born in Rajam, a small town in Andhra Pradesh, and went on to establish the GMR Group, can you even believe that? This company has turned out to be a leader in the domain of infrastructure development. Today, having a net worth of $3.49 billion, he sure is one of the richest men in the country. The humble beginnings of Rao were transformed into a substantial company through his dedication and intelligence which has set him apart as a major player in the Indian business scene, so with that said, let’s have a closer look at his life story, shall we?

Early Life and Education

Apart from his father’s jewelry business his mother worked as a school teacher, which means they were a lower-middle-class family. From childhood, he had an interest in the business area. After completing his schooling he attended Andhra University where he got an engineering degree. And just so you know, his early career started as a shift engineer in a paper mill and after that, he worked as a junior engineer at Andhra Pradesh Public Works Department. And sure, in the process, he gained a fair amount of experience yet it was a pure interest in business that drove him.

Entrepreneurial Journey

When his mother encouraged him, Rao took a risk in the field of trading commodities thus, beginning the business world journey, you know? He quickly became well-recognized by building strong bonds with the suppliers and the clients. The turning point that got him noticed came when he purchased a failing jute mill after which he put it on the road to recovery. Later on, though, he used a part of the profit from the jute mill to diversify his business into other areas. Among his remarkable achievements was co-founding Vysya Bank, a move that he later turned into a big capital gain allowing him to become fully active in his main passion: infrastructure development.

Founding of GMR Group

It was way back in 1978 when a wealthy young man named G. M. Rao presented to the public a new company called the GMR Group. As you may already know, it was initially involved in jute and sugar-based agriculture, but he soon realized the unused human resources in the field of infrastructure in India. The company that he founded quickly transformed into a sizable conglomerate under its chief who took control of it, the GMR Group was working in the fields of aviation, highways, power plants, and urban development, you know? Just so you know, some important activities of the group are such as the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi and the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. Right now, the GMR group has entered 7 countries in the world and it has become the biggest infrastructure player around the globe.

Major Milestones and Achievements

A contract to build the Indira Gandhi International Airport which was one of the key milestones in Rao’s career transformed him into a mega infrastructure player in India. And that’s when the Economics Times named him the Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007 which helped his company, GMR, to be the leader in the infrastructure market in the whole country. Indeed, his company is still involved in both developing and maintaining large-scale projects in energy, highways, and urban infrastructure both in India and globally.

Net Worth and Financial Growth

As we already mentioned, G. M. Rao’s current net worth stands at $3.49 billion, but did you know that back in 2023, his net worth was just around $1.30 billion? And because of this jump in his net worth, today, G. M. Rao ranks 980th on the global billionaire list and is among the top 100 richest people in India.