Rahul Bajaj (10 June 1938 – 12 February 2022) was an Indian billionaire businessman and politician. He was the chairman emeritus of the Indian conglomerate Bajaj Group. He was awarded the third-highest civilian award in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, the
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...
, in 2001.
Early life
Bajaj was born on 10 June 1938, to Kamalnayan Bajaj and Savitri Bajaj. He was the grandson of Indian independence fighter, Jamnalal Bajaj, who was a close associate of
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
. Bajaj was an alumnus of
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
Cathedral and John Connon School
The Cathedral and John Connon School is a co-educational private school founded in 1860 and located in Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra.Bajaj Group in 1965. In a career spanning over five decades, he led the turnover of the group's flagship company,
Bajaj Auto
Bajaj Auto Limited ( ) is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company based in Pune. It manufactures motorcycles, scooters and auto rickshaws. Bajaj Auto is a part of the Bajaj Group. It was founded by Jamnalal Bajaj (1889–19 ...
, from to , with the company's scooter Bajaj Chetak being the main growth driver.
Bajaj stepped down from his role in 2005 and his son Rajiv became the Group's managing director. Bajaj led the split of Bajaj Auto into three units in 2008:
Bajaj Auto
Bajaj Auto Limited ( ) is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company based in Pune. It manufactures motorcycles, scooters and auto rickshaws. Bajaj Auto is a part of the Bajaj Group. It was founded by Jamnalal Bajaj (1889–19 ...
, Bajaj Finserv and a holding company. He resigned as chairman and non-executive director of Bajaj Finserv to become chairman emeritus in March 2019. In April 2021, Bajaj stepped down as non-executive chairman of Bajaj Auto, ceding the position to his cousin, Niraj Bajaj, and remained with the company as chairman emeritus.
Bajaj was elected to the
Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...
, India's Upper House of Parliament, filling the seat vacated by the death of Pramod Mahajan for the 2006–2010 period.
Bajaj was elected as the president of the
Confederation of Indian Industry
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is a Non-governmental organization, non-governmental business and industry organisation and advocacy group headquartered in New Delhi, India, founded in 1895.
CII is a membership-based organisation. ...
(CII) twice, in 1979–1980 and 1999–2000. For his outstanding work to the Indian industry, the then President of India,
Pranab Mukherjee
Pranab Kumar Mukherjee ( ; born, 11 December 1935 – 31 August 2020) was an Indian statesman who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the post of President of India. In a pol ...
, presented him with CII President's Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2017.
Some of the other positions that Bajaj held included chairman of Indian Airlines, chairman of the International Business Council at the
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...
, chairman of the board at
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT- Bombay or IIT-B) is a public research university and technical institute in Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
IIT Bombay is mainly known for the highly competitive four-year Bachelor of Tech ...
, member of the International Advisory Council at the
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...
, and a member of the South Asia advisory board at
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
.
Bajaj received the
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...
, India's third-highest civilian honour, in 2001.
On the ''
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 ...
,'' 2016 list of the world's billionaires, he was ranked No. 722, with a net worth of
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
2.4 billion.
Personal life and death
His sons Rajiv Bajaj and Sanjiv Bajaj are involved in the management of his companies. His daughter, Sunaina Kejriwal was the director of the Kamalnayan Bajaj Hall and Art Gallery, and died in October 2024, aged 53, after three years with cancer, and was married to Manish Kejriwal, the former head of Temasek India.
Bajaj died from
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
on 12 February 2022, at the age of 83. He was earlier admitted to the Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune, and was undergoing treatment at the hospital. He also had cancer and heart problems prior to his death.