Vedanta's Anil Agarwal has this advice for students: 'Be fearless, humble and flexible'

Anil Agarwal, a first-generation entrepreneur hailing from a small village in Bihar and now based in London, hoped that his words were able to inspire the young minds. (Image credit: Anil Agarwal/LinkedIn)

"Growing up, I only knew two words in English, ‘yes’, and ‘no’. I would use the Oxford Dictionary to translate words from Hindi to English, and never got the opportunity to study at a university," Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal shared recently.

But two days ago, while addressing students at the Oxford University Society, the billionaire had some advice for the "future world leaders".

"The journey from a small village in Bihar to London Stock Exchange has been one filled with many learning adventures, lots of hard work, and self-belief," Agarwal wrote on LinkedIn.

"My advice to the students was simple: be fearless (because luck favours the brave), be humble (because growth happens when you look inwards), and be flexible (because there is no substitute for hard work)."

The billionaire businessman -- a first-generation entrepreneur hailing from a small village in Bihar and now based in London -- hoped that his words were able to inspire the young minds.

"I sincerely hope I was able to inspire them with my words because their convictions in their aspirations certainly motivated me," he shared.

Anil Agarwal was the first Indian Business Founder to speak at Oxford University Society -- one of the world's foremost debating societies.

Read more: 'Rockstar' reception, movie offers for Anil Agarwal's rags to riches tale

His remarks were shared by his company.

"Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal is the only Indian to become part of The Giving Pledge this year, an initiative founded by Bill Gates in association with Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffet. He has pledged to give 75 percent of his wealth towards philanthropy and social good," it stated .

Anil Agarwal had earlier made headlines after making it to the list of UK Richest in 2022. The list featured other Indian-origin entrepreneurs such as Gopi Hinduja, Kiran mazumdar Shaw and Lakshmi Niwas Mittal.

The billionaire ranked 16th with an estimated wealth of 9.2 billion pounds.

Read more: Vedanta's Anil Agarwal on the secret to his success: ‘always take your people with you’