Rakesh Jhunjhunwala had five role models but no real guru

For millions of investors and traders across India and the rest of the world, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was the ‘Big Bull’ of Dalal Street, but for those who knew him personally, he was just “Rakesh Bhaiya” – an overweight man with a big heart and short temper. Known for frank views on markets and making intuitive bets, the 62-year-old who passed away following a cardiac arrest in Mumbai today, would throw generous parties where his wife Rekha would be the perfect host.

Flamboyant and well-networked, the ‘Oracle of Dalal Street’ was close friends with another veteran investor Radhakishan Damani. Together, they were known as the ‘Jai and Veeru’ of Dalal Street. While fully respecting each other’s viewpoints, the two best friends would often take contrasting calls during their earlier trading days.

In earlier interviews, Jhunjhunwala had said that he took inspiration from five role models – his father, the Tatas, Winston Churchill, George Soros and Radhakishan Damani.

1) “The first role model in my life is my father. He gave me my morals, thoughts, guts and encouraged my curiosity,” Jhunjhunwala had said about his late father, who was an income tax officer.

2) When it came to learning how to earn wealth and use it for the public good, he said he learnt it from the Tatas, who have built multiple hospitals and educational institutes with their wealth. In his last days, Jhunjhunwala was busy with several philanthropic plans. “At the age of 62 you will realise that the average age in India is 70. You have a finite life, and you think of life beyond life. So then you feel what wealth is? What is the purpose?”

3) He also admired former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill for showing tenacity and guts during the Second World War.

4) For trading and investing, his role model was none other than celebrated hedge fund tycoon George Soros, known as the man who broke the Bank of England.

5) For wisdom, he treated the reclusive Radhakishan Damani as his mentor. At a public event in 2020, Jhunjhunwala said he learnt a lot from Damani, including the latter’s conviction in India as a bull market, apart from lessons in investing and trading.

“I can’t list down what I have learnt from him, I can list down what I have not learnt,” he had said.

In a TV interview, when RJ was asked about his inspiration, he said that learning is a journey and not a destination. “I do not accept any guru. I did not accept any Swamiji. I learn by doing and experiencing.”