What Rakesh Jhunjhunwala said about being called ‘India’s Warren Buffett’

"It’s not a fitting comparison (with Warren Buffett)," Rakesh Jhunjhunwala said

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, one of India's biggest stock market investors, was often compared to American veteran Warren Buffett.

Much like the "Oracle of Omaha", Rakesh Jhunjhunwala built an impressive fortune from smart investments.

But he once rightly said Warren Buffett was far ahead of him. The Berkshire Hathaway CEO, with a net worth of over $100 billion, is among the 10 richest people in the world.

Jhunjhunwala, who died on August 14, leaving the country grieving, created a $5.8 billion fortune.

“It’s not a fitting comparison (with Warren Buffett)," he had told news agency Reuters in an interview in 2012. "In terms of wealth and success and maturity, he’s far, far ahead."

Jhunjhunwala had added that he was not anybody's clone

"I’m Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. I’ve lived the world on my own terms. I do what I enjoy. I enjoy what I do.”

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala had started engaging with stocks while he was still in college, prompted by his father Radheshyam Jhunjhunwala, an income tax official.

Jhunjhunwala's father guided him but never provided him financial aid. He borrowed money from his brother’s clients with a promise to return the capital with returns higher than those offered by bank fixed deposits.

He earned his first big hit in 1986 when he bought 5,000 shares of Tata Tea at Rs 43 which rose to Rs 143 within three months, earning him a profit.

Jhunjhunwala went on to have holdings in over 30 companies across sectors ranging from construction to banks to real estate. Most recently, he backed Akasa Air -- the newest entrant to the Indian aviation sector.