Byju Raveendran, co-founder of troubled edtech firm Byju’s, is no longer a billionaire, according to the recently-released ‘Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2024’. One year ago, Raveendran’s net worth was Rs 17,545 crore ($2.1 billion). Today, it has plummeted to zero.
Once counted among India's most valuable start-ups, Byju’s has been troubled over a range of issues since 2022, including accounting irregularities, alleged misselling of courses, and mass layoffs.
The company has let go of thousands of employees over the past 12 months as it battles the double blow of drying venture capital funding and slowing demand for online learning services. Its investor board members have left, too, citing differences with Raveendran, said a Moneycontrol report from February 2024.
In its piece about Indian billionaires, Forbes said: “Only four people from last year’s list dropped off this time, including former edtech star Byju Raveendran, whose firm Byju’s was enveloped in multiple crises and its valuation was marked down by BlackRock to $1 billion, a fraction of its peak $22 billion valuation in 2022.”
Byju’s was founded by Byju Raveendran in 2011. His wife Divya Gokulnath, one of his early students, helps him run the company and also sits on the board.
While Raveendran has dropped off the Forbes billionaires index, the number of billionaires in the world overall has gone up. There are now 2,781 billionaires in the world, 141 more than last year. In India, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is the richest person with a wealth of $116 billion, according to the latest Forbes rankings.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
