The world economy endured roller coaster ups and downs in 2020. While we witnessed the worst economic crash in a generation, global stock markets were able to rise and recover later in the year, thanks to unprecedented stimulus and vaccine breakthroughs. You won’t believe how much Mukesh Ambani spends on private security The upheaval has been a boon for retail investors and the trading platforms they rely on. Among them is the Indian brokerage platform Zerodha, which, despite the pandemic squeezing savings accounts, doubled its number of registered users to four million. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nikhil Kamath (@nikhilkamathcio) This growth has been a big win for Zerodha’s co-founder and chief investment officer, Nikhil Kamath. He and his brother, Nithin, now have a combined net worth of US$1.5 billion, according to Forbes . Here’s his story. 7 real-life Crazy Rich Asians we’d love to see in Bling Empire: NYC He dropped out of school to play chess View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nikhil Kamath (@nikhilkamathcio) Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit may have hyped up chess in 2022 , but well before it came into vogue, Nikhil was a pro. With a penchant for the sport, which he says “teaches you how to work under a structure, in a system, but yet try and be creative within that system”, he dropped out of school at 14 to pursue it as a career. 5 ways Priyanka Chopra turned her life around He was already financially literate as a teen Nikhil Kamath from @zerodhaonline talks about his journey #finance #Markets #StockMarket #investors #investing at #Gnosis17 8th Annual Finance Symposium by Finance Association at @XLRIJamshedpur @Nithin0dha @bankofbaroda @stregismumbai pic.twitter.com/vbIYxvGFVt — Jay (@jksingh99) November 11, 2017 Nikhil confessed to Arabian Business Industrie s that despite his early talent for the game, chess didn’t earn him enough to make a living. He tried working in a call centre, then at 17, inspired by his brother, he taught himself how to trade on the stock market. Having honed his analytical mind through chess proved to be useful when it came to trading. He and his brother used their own savings to start Zerodha View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nikhil Kamath (@nikhilkamathcio) Early on, Nikhil saw a gap in the system. Noting how there were many obstacles to deal with before you earned any profit, he and his brother decided to start a simple and affordable brokerage platform using their own funds. Thus Zerodha – a combination of “zero and rodha ”, the Sanskrit word for “barriers” – was born. According to CNBC , unlike most start-ups, the platform does not rely on external investment. Meet Rohan Seth, the co-founder of everyone’s new favourite app Clubhouse He’s an avid reader Book of the year for me, so at 34, a fair estimate is I have 36 years left. (Avg lifespan 70) So easy to forget the finite nature of life, if u were to live backwards with awareness of how much time(approx) is left, what would you change? pic.twitter.com/7Ufq2nVZMK — Nikhil Kamath (@nikhilkamathcio) January 14, 2021 Nikhil may have turned his back on formal education early, but this did not stop him learning. He is a voracious reader, and says he reads one to two books each week. He particularly enjoys books on mass psychology and on his Twitter account, he had already declared The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker the “book of the year”, in mid-January. Prithvi Akash Ambani: Born into a family of billionaires He also co-founded an asset management company View this post on Instagram A post shared by True Beacon (@truebeacon) After establishing Zerodha and growing it into “India’s largest brokerage and execution platform”, Nikhil then targeted the top end of the market which he saw would benefit from a more bespoke approach to wealth management. He then started True Beacon, an asset management company that advises ultra high-net worth individuals on how to manage their fortunes. Want more stories like this? Sign up here . Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .
