Self-made billionaire industrialist Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao started it small. He began his entrepreneurial journey by acquiring a dying jute mill in Andhra Pradesh in early 70s, but soon he turned it profitable. Rao, however, exited the business when he saw a potential in high growth areas like airports, energy, transportation and urban infrastructure.
It was in 1978 that this first-generation entrepreneur started his fledgling infrastructure business, which in just over three decades grew to over $4.2 billion in sales. Rao, known for his indomitable spirit and business acumen, aggressively bid for multiple public-private partnership projects, be it with the Central government or various state governments.
The GMR Group, which went public in 2006, has two international airports under its fold—Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.
The group also has 15 power generation assets, of which eight are already operational. Besides, the group’s transportation business has six operational highways covering a total length of 2,851 lane kilometers. According to Forbes, Rao is the richest Telugu in India, and has successfully led the group establish its presence in seven countries.