RIP Big Bull: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala leaves behind unparalleled legacy on D-St

The news of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's death spread like wildfire in the market fraternity, with condolences coming in from day traders to market veterans such as Shankar Sharma, Manish Chokhani and Sunil Singhania.

Jhunjhunwala was an eternal bull all his life. For him, at any point, the mother of all bull markets was just ahead of India. He always said bull markets were Test matches, and not 50-over games.

Jhunjhunwala used to value stocks on five parameters: patience, people, governance, frugality and technology. Those who were lucky to work with him — including Atul Suri of Marathon Trends and Hiren Ved of Alchemy Capital — remember him as an astute investor who taught them to see the bigger picture and be fearless.

The son of an income tax officer, Jhunjhunwala started making his mark on Dalal Street in 1985, when the BSE Sensex was young, at 150 level.

Starting his career with a humble Rs 5,000, Jhunjhunwala’s latest worth was pegged at $5.8 billion by Forbes. He recently launched an airline, Akasa, and had multiple investments in startups. This is other than his Rs 31,833.70 crore worth stock portfolio that made him the largest individual investor on Dalal Street.

He was also the promoter of some listed companies such as Star Health and Aptech.

Jhunjhunwala once said 98 per cent of the money that he made in the stock market was by being a bull. When there's doom and gloom, don't forget there's darkness before dawn, he said the other day. His ever-bullish call on Indian stocks earned him titles such as “The Big Bull” or “India’s Warren Buffett” among his admirers. And rightly so.

His bet on Apollo Hospitals delivered over 100 times’ return between 1998 and 2015. He had a similar success in Bata (1996-2019). He made over 90 times in BEL (1998-2007).

Between 2001 and 2007, he made a whopping 700 times’ return in Praj Industries and during 2004-2020, his bet on Rallis India yielded 55 times’ return.

BEML (100 times), Lupin (160 times), Crisil (200 times) and SCI (1,200 per cent) were some other stocks that did wonders for Jhunjhunwala in the 2000s.

In the last decade, the ace investor made 20 times’ return in Escorts (2013-2020) and 200 per cent in Tata Communications (2010-2020).

Suri of Marathon Trends, who once worked with the late legendary investor at Rare Enterprises, said Jhunjhunwala never questioned his investment or trading decisions but always backed him to take bigger decisions. "I was very fortunate to find someone with such wisdom, patience, skills and success," he told ET NOW.

Rare Enterprises, the trading and investment firm, derived its name from the first two initials of Rakesh and his wife Rekha.

Jhunjhunwala once said he at times used technical analysis and this helped him make long-term returns. “As an investor, I may feel a stock is overpriced and so I should sell. But my trading skills teach me that stocks can be overvalued and still get more overvalued,” he once told ETNow.

“Trading is momentum, 'le fatafat, de fatafat' (buy and sell quickly). But in investing, one can be contrarian and can still make money."

Having known him for 25-26 years, the news of Jhunjhunwala's demise is "beyond words, beyond sadness, beyond everything," Shankar Sharma told ET NOW. Sharma said Rakesh and he have had publicly fought in terms of having different views, but yet they were good friends. In a difficult profession, one can disagree on views and yet be great friends, he said.

The Big Bull died earlier today at 62 following a cardiac arrest. He was suffering from multiple health problems related to heart, diabetes and kidney, according to sources. Jhunjhunwala was taken to Breach Candy Hospital, where he was declared dead. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Market veteran Deven Choksey said Jhunjhunwala was ambitious, a sharp thinker, a thought leader and a calculative risk taker as a trader and a successful investor. "His analysis was meticulous," he said.

"He saw a big picture in India story, he supported the government and decision makers for taking bold steps in putting India’s economy on a fast track. His conviction in India and his prospects, inspired decision makers in the country. He planned his exit well ahead of his time by significantly allocating his wealth to philanthropy."

"He combined ambition with action. His life was blessed by these 'RARE' qualities," he said.

Hiren Ved said the stock market in India has lost its crown jewel, but the wisdom and the words of the jewel will shine forever.

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