Biography of Dr. Cyrus Poonavala, an Indian Entrepreneur
Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla is an Indian entrepreneur who has a net worth of $4.9 billion. Dr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla has accumulated his fortune as the Chairman of Poonawalla, which is the world's largest producer of vaccines. It produces more than one billion doses annually through an Indian bio-tech company called Serum Institute of India. The group saw an almost 50% jump in revenues last fiscal year on higher sales of specific vaccines that were used in Africa or were part of India's immunization system. Most recently, it was the Poonawalla Group to launch an injectable polio vaccine, made by Dutch subsidiary Bilthoven Biologicals, in India. For all his contributions to medicine, Poonawalla was honored with the Padma Shri award by the government of India in 2005. One of the 15 richest in India, Poonawalla spent $15 million for works by Renoir, Van Gogh and other notable artist at recent art auctions in London, as well as he purchased racehorse Kenhope for $1.2 million at a Paris auction.
"Forbes Richest Billionaire's' List released in March 2014 listed Dr. Poonawalla as the 10th richest person in India and 295th in the world with a net worth of $ 4.9 billion".
Early Career
Born into a family whose decades-old ties to India’s horse racing circuit through the family's owned Poonawalla Stud Farms, by age 20, Dr. Poonawalla realized that horse racing had "no future in the socialist India of the time." And first experimented with cars. along with his school friend he built a $120 prototype sports car modeled on the D-type Jaguar. But producing it on a commercial basis required more money than they had. Dr. Poonawalla abandoned the idea, realizing that making a product for the masses, rather than India's elite, would be a smart move.
A chance conversation with a vet at the farm led Dr. Poonawalla into vaccines. At the time, the farm's retired horses were donated to government-owned Haffkine Institute in Mumbai, which made vaccines from horse serum.
Dr.
"Forbes Richest Billionaire's' List released in March 2014 listed Dr. Poonawalla as the 10th richest person in India and 295th in the world with a net worth of $ 4.9 billion".
Early Career
Born into a family whose decades-old ties to India’s horse racing circuit through the family's owned Poonawalla Stud Farms, by age 20, Dr. Poonawalla realized that horse racing had "no future in the socialist India of the time." And first experimented with cars. along with his school friend he built a $120 prototype sports car modeled on the D-type Jaguar. But producing it on a commercial basis required more money than they had. Dr. Poonawalla abandoned the idea, realizing that making a product for the masses, rather than India's elite, would be a smart move.
A chance conversation with a vet at the farm led Dr. Poonawalla into vaccines. At the time, the farm's retired horses were donated to government-owned Haffkine Institute in Mumbai, which made vaccines from horse serum.
Dr.