“I started Nykaa at the age of 50 with no experience."
According to the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022, Falguni Nayar has become the richest Indian woman.
The founder of beauty e-commerce platform Nykaa surpassed Rekha Jhunjhunwala of Rare Enterprises, the company incorporated by her husband and late veteran investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
In addition, Falguni overtook Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to become the richest self-made Indian woman.
The report stated: “With the successful listing of the beauty and wellness e-commerce platform Nykaa, Falguni Nayar overtakes ‘Biotech Queen’ Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to become the richest self-made Indian woman in the IIFL Wealth Hururn India Rich List 2022.”
Her family’s wealth rose by Rs. 30,000 Crore (£3.3 billion) during the year while her cumulative wealth increased by 345%.
Falguni is also in the top 10 when it comes to wealth addition, standing in fifth.
The likes of Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani were ahead.
Ahead of her company’s listing on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Falguni said:
“I started Nykaa at the age of 50 with no experience. I hope the Nykaa journey can inspire each of you to be the Nykaa of your lives.”
She founded Nykaa in 2012. The company was aimed at providing beauty products to men and women in the country online.
Before, Indians typically relied on smaller, neighbourhood stores to buy beauty products.
With the launch of Nykaa, cosmetics and skincare products were just a phone tap away and the range of options increased drastically with the introduction of international brands and those which were never heard of.
Falguni Nayar owns almost half of Nykaa’s shares and is worth $6.5 billion.
A statement said: “An investment banker turned entrepreneur, Falguni Nayar disrupted a brick-and-mortar industry by taking a digital route to sell beauty products in 2012.
“Her start-up, Nykaa, is one of the most profitable start-ups in the country with a strong omnichannel presence.
“Over the last two years, she has diversified from beauty into fashion and lifestyle and has a well-established portfolio of over 2,600+ international brands and 100+ offline stores.
“The company recently raised fresh capital for expansion through a blockbuster IPO.
“Falguni was the recipient of the EY Entrepreneur of The Year Award in the Start-up category in 2019.”
The IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022 also saw several new startup founders, including Zepto’s co-founder Kaivalya Vohra, who becomes the youngest entrepreneur to enter the list at the age of 19.
Anas Rahman Junaid, Chief Researcher, Hurun India, said:
“The trends in IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022 prove that India has taken booster shots against the global crisis.
“Be it Ukraine War or inflationary pressures, the Indian growth story continues against all odds as 149 individuals entered the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich list of 1,103 who cumulatively have a wealth of Rs. 100 lakh crore.
“India also gave a new number two, Gautam Adani, to the Hurun Global Rich List.”
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