Radhakishan Shivkishan Damani is an Indian billionaire businessman and investor. He is the founder and chairman of

retail chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, Management, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories ...

DMart Avenue Supermarts Limited, d/b/a DMart, is an Indian retail corporation that operates a chain of supermarkets and hypermarkets. The company was founded by Radhakishan Damani and is based in Mumbai. As of March 2025, DMart has 415 stores across ...

. Damani is referred to as the "retail king" of India. His estimated net worth is US$15.5 billion as of December 2024, according to

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

Early life and career

Radhakishan Shivkishan Damani was raised in a Maheshwari Marwari Hindu family in a single room apartment in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. He studied commerce at the

University of Mumbai University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

but dropped out after one year. After the death of his father who worked on

Dalal Street Dalal Street (), () is the metonym for the financial markets of India, the Indian financial services industry of the country as a whole, or the actual financial district itself. It is located in the Financial District of Fort in Mumbai and is ...

, Damani left his ball bearing business and became a stock market broker and investor. In the early 1990s, he made big profits by short-selling stocks that had been artificially inflated by

Harshad Mehta Harshad Shantilal Mehta (29 July 1954 – 31 December 2001) was an Indian stockbroker, businessman, and convicted fraudster. Mehta's involvement in the 1992 Indian securities scam (about ) led him to gain infamy for market manipulation. Of t ...

. Damani was reportedly the largest individual shareholder of

HDFC Bank HDFC Bank Limited is an Indian banking and financial services company, headquartered in Mumbai. It is India's largest private sector bank by assets and market capitalisation. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has identified the HDFC Bank, Stat ...

after it went public in 1995. In 1999, he operated a franchise of Apna Bazaar, a cooperative

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

, in

Nerul Nerul (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, eɾuːɭ is a residential and commercial node in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Nerul is located in the Harbour line (Mumbai Suburban Railway), Harbour Line, Trans-Harbour line (Mumbai Suburban R ...

, but was "unconvinced" by its business model. He quit stock market in 2000 to start his own

hypermarket A hypermarket or superstore is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full grocery lines and general merchandise. In ...

chain,

, setting up the first store in Powai in 2002. The chain had 25 stores in 2010, after which the company grew rapidly and went public in 2017. In 2020, he became the fourth-richest Indian with a net worth of $16.5 billion. He was ranked #117 on the global list of billionaires. He was ranked #87 on the global list (

) of billionaires 2022 with a net worth of $18.9 billion. In October 2024, Damani and his family were ranked sixth on the Forbes list of India’s 100 richest tycoons, with a net worth of $31.5 billion.

Investments

Damani also holds stakes in multiple companies, including VST Industries and

India Cements The India Cements Limited is a cement manufacturing company based in Chennai. It is the 9th largest listed cement company in India by revenue. The company was headed by former International Cricket Council chairman and Board of Control for Crick ...

. Damani publicly holds stakes in 14 companies; the value of his shareholding was about in June 2024. In 2020, Damani picked up a 1% stake in Andhra Paper. Damani also picked up 15% stake in India Cements in May 2020 taking his shareholding in India Cements to 19.89%. In 2023, Damani bought 28 housing units in the luxury apartment Three Sixty West for .

Personal life

He is married to Shrikantadevi and they have three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Damani, Radhakishan Indian businesspeople Businesspeople from Mumbai Marwari people 1954 births Living people Indian billionaires Indian industrialists Indian investors Businesspeople in retailing Businesspeople from Rajasthan University of Mumbai alumni