BANGALORE: The president of Karnataka Jewellery Exporters Association, Rajesh Mehta, was penniless and without gold a couple of years ago. Rajesh stepped into the world of business with the help of his elder brother from whom he had borrowed $118 and along with the companionship of his younger sibling, he went on to sell gold jewellery from door to door in Gujarat.
In 1989 he established Rajesh exports Ltd and today according to the Forbes list published recently, the chairman of Rajesh exports Ltd, Rajesh, ranks among the 7 billionaires in Karnataka and amongst the eleven in the whole of southern India. He is the only new entrant in the list of southern India and the Forbes ranks him fourth in the entire country, amongst the new entrants. The company has the largest gold mining factory in Whitefields, Bangalore, with a total capacity to process 250 tonnes of gold and thus it is the largest exporter of gold jewellery with sales of $ 4.7 billion in the entire world. It has its offices in USA, Europe, Middle east and South Asia. His family too holds stakes in the African gold mines. Being a software programmer, he has written several accounting and other software programs for the jewellery trade.