Nikhil Kamath

Nikhil Kamath (born 1986) is the co-founder of Zerodha — India's largest stockbroker by active clients — and True Beacon, an asset management firm. A high school dropout who taught himself trading, he is now one of India's youngest billionaires with a net worth exceeding ₹30,000 crore. His story is a masterclass in self-education, resilience, and redefining success.

Born in a middle-class family in Shimoga, Karnataka, Nikhil was never interested in formal academics. He dropped out of school after 10th grade. While friends prepared for college, he started working at a call centre and simultaneously began trading in the stock market with small savings.

Without any financial degree, Nikhil spent countless nights reading charts, studying market psychology, and learning from real trading experience. He faced early losses but treated every failure as a lesson. “I failed more times than I succeeded, but I never stopped learning,” he says.

In 2010, along with his brother Nithin Kamath, Nikhil co-founded Zerodha with a simple but radical idea: offer brokerage at a flat fee of ₹20 per trade (or zero for delivery) instead of the traditional percentage-based model. They bootstrapped the company with their own savings — no external funding, no VC money.

Today, Zerodha has over 1.5 crore active clients, processes millions of trades daily, and is profitable every year since inception. The company is valued at over ₹50,000 crore, yet remains 100% bootstrapped — a rare feat in the startup world.

In 2019, Nikhil co-founded True Beacon, an asset management firm that offers institutional-grade investment products to high-net-worth individuals. It focuses on transparent, low-cost wealth management — extending the Zerodha philosophy to the world of asset management.

Through Rainmatter, Nikhil and his team invest in fintech, climate, and health startups. The Rainmatter Foundation supports climate action and social impact projects. He believes that wealth creation must go hand-in-hand with responsible giving. “Success is not just about how much you make, but how many lives you impact,” he often says.

Nikhil is a high school dropout who became a billionaire. His story proves that skill, curiosity, and execution matter more than degrees. Learn by doing.

Zerodha never took VC money. Building a business with your own money forces you to be lean, customer-focused, and profitable from day one.

Nikhil lost money multiple times in trading before succeeding. Each failure taught him risk management and emotional control — skills that built Zerodha.

Zerodha solved the problem of high brokerage fees. Nikhil identified a pain point millions faced and built a simple, transparent solution. Great businesses are born from genuine customer needs.

Despite immense wealth, Nikhil lives simply and channels significant resources into philanthropy and climate action. True success includes social responsibility.

Recognized as one of India's most influential young entrepreneurs.

Featured among India's most powerful business leaders under 40.

Celebrated for revolutionizing discount broking in India.