Radhakishan Damani (RD) is an Indian businessman, investor and stock trader. He is best known for founding the supermarket chain DMart, for which he was nicknamed the “King of Indian Retail”.
Wiki/Biography
Radhakishan Damani was born in 1954 (67 years old in 2021) in Bikaner, Rajasthan. He went to school in Mumbai and then to the University of Mumbai. He dropped out of college in his first year while pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
appearance
Hair color: Gray and white (half bald)
Eye color: Black
Family and caste
Radhakishan Damani was born into a poor Marwari family.
Parents and siblings
His father Shivkishanji Damani is a stockbroker in Dalal St. RD’s brother Gopikishan Damani is a stock trader and investor.
Relationships, Wife and Children
Mr Damani is married to Shrikantadevi Radhakishan Damani. The couple has three daughters: Manjri Damani Chandak, Jyoti Kabra and Madhu Chandak.
Radhakishan Damani’s wife attends the listing ceremony of Avenue Supermarts Limited (D-Mart)
Radhakishan Damani’s daughter Madhu Chandak
Manjri Damani Chandak, daughter of Radhakishan Damani
Radhakishan Damani’s daughter Jyoti Kabra
address
He lives with his family in Altamount Road, Mumbai.
Profession
As a stockbroker
After dropping out of college, Mr Damani started his ball bearing business. At the age of 32, he gave up the business due to the untimely death of his father and joined his brothers in Dalal Street as stockbrokers. When RD entered the stock market, it was ruled by the short-selling cartel of Manu Manek, also known as Cobra. Mr Damani learnt short selling stocks from Manu and later used the same strategy to counter the bullish strategy of his old enemy Harshad Mehta. Radhakishan was rumoured to be a member of the bearish group “Three Rs” in the late 90s. The three Rs of the group were Radhakishan Damani, Raju (a chartist) and Rakesh Junjuwala (a future bull). Three Rs and Harshad Mehta were considered bitter rivals. The first thing they reportedly fought over was Apollo Tyres shares. Mr Damani and Rakesh believed that Apollo Tyres’ shares were grossly overvalued. As a result, they started short selling the stock, unaware that Harshad was illegally manipulating the stock price. RD and his team suffered heavy losses. Harshad Mehta was later convicted of financial fraud in 1992. In an interview after the scam came to light, Mr. Damani said:
Agar Harshad saat din aur apni location keep kar leta, toh mujhe kathora leke road par utarna padta. “
The 1992 scam caused many investors and stockbrokers to lose money. RD helped many small investors by buying depreciated stocks. He also helped clients of Deena Mehta (another famous stockbroker) after the 2001 Ketan Parekh scam. In an interview, speaking about Mr. Damani’s help, Deena said,
When some of our clients were stuck in Videocon and BPL stocks, RD helped us by taking over their positions…these stocks could no longer be sold as there were no buyers in the market. RD was a very active player in times of crisis. He is a savvy investor; when he was bearish, he made more money.”
1992 Harshad Mehta scam caused stock market crash
Mr. Damani’s multi-bagger holdings include 1% stake in VST Industries, HDFC Bank, Sundaram Finance, ITC, Gillette, Crisil, ICRA, 3M India, Blue Dart Express, Prozone Intu Properties, Uniply Industries, India Cements and Andhra Paper. In 2000, he invested in VST Industries Ltd. when the company’s share price was around Rs 80 per share. In 2020, the share price surged to Rs 3,600. Similarly, Sundaram Finance’s share price rose from Rs 270 per share to Rs 1,800 in 2021. These investments have helped Mr. Damani amass a huge fortune.
VST Industries Ltd share price rises
In 1995, when HDFC Bank IPO’d, RD bought shares worth Rs 400 crore at Rs 40 per share; as of 2020, the share price is Rs 2600. In an interview, when asked why he chose HDFC Bank over a nationalised bank like SBI, Mr Damani is said to have said,
Dharavi Dharavi hota hai, aur Pedder Road Pedder Road…aage jaake HDFC ka bhaav dekh lena. “
As an Entrepreneur
In the late 1990s, RD temporarily withdrew from the stock market to focus on the retail business. In 2002, he founded the hypermarket chain DMart (registered as Avenue Supermarts Ltd.) with a branch in Powai. As of 2020, DMart has more than 200 stores in almost every part of India.
In March 2017, Mr Damani listed his retail chain at an issue price of Rs 299 per share, which soared to Rs 2,900 by 2021. DMart’s market capitalisation has increased from Rs 38,000 crore in March 2017 to Rs 16 lakh crore in June 2020, making it larger than Britannia Industries, Asian Paints, Bank of Baroda and even Nestle.
DMart’s rising market value
net worth
As of March 2024, Radhakishan Damani’s net worth is valued at approximately $17.2 billion, making him the ninth richest person in India. His physical assets are as follows.
- The Radisson Blu Resort in Alibag, Maharashtra has 156 rooms.
- A beachfront holiday home near Mumbai.
Facts/Trivia
- Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (Big Bull) considers Radhakishan Damani as his mentor. In an interview, while talking about his mentor, Rakesh said:
I learned the trade from him… He had wisdom, great patience and humility… His patience in listening to other people’s perspectives was incredible… He taught me about life and shaped my character. I would not have been as successful as I have without his guidance and that of my father.”
Radhakishan Damani and his apprentice Rakesh Jhunjhunwala
- He admits that renowned investor Chandrakant Sampat is his inspiration. He learned a lot from Mr. Sampat’s value investing in the 80s and 90s.
- Rumor has it that RD predicted the tech bubble in 2001 and the global recession in 2008. The tech bubble was a stock market crash caused by excessive use of the internet by trading companies.
- Actor Paresh Ganatra essayed the role of Radhakishan Damani in SonyLIV’s popular web series Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story.
- As of 2020, RD is the fourth richest person in India (Mukesh Ambani is at the top).
- Mr. Damani’s family and close friends called him “Mr. White and White” due to his preference for white shirts and white pants.
- Radhakishan Damani rarely interacts with the media and is rarely seen at any stock market-related events.
- He loved taking walks in Girgaum Chowpatty.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education