Azim Premji, the Indian businessman who stood at the helm of Wipro, is one of India’s wealthiest people, standing among the ranks of Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, and Shiv Nadar.
In 2024, Azim Premji’s net worth is estimated at around $9 billion, following a notable decline in Wipro’s share value and multiple massive charitable donations.
At one point, Premji was the company’s chairman but today, he holds the position of non-executive member of the company’s board. The so-called “Czar of the Indian IT” industry has led his father’s business through decades of growth, cementing his reputation as one of India’s most powerful people.
How Much is Azim Premji Worth in 2024?
- Estimated net worth: Approximately $9 billion
- Major sources of wealth: Stake in Wipro ($1.2+ billion)
- Charitable donations: Donated 39% of Wipro shares worth $29 billion
- Real estate holdings: $49.1 million
Azim Premji’s Net Worth Breakdown:
Azim Premji’s net worth is truly impressive, but he witnessed a rather drastic drop in his wealth in recent years due to the drop in Wipro’s shares.
These days, he is ranked sixth on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index list for Indian rich people and 69th richest person worldwide.
However, based on our findings and recent data, since Azim Premji has given away nearly half of his personal share at the company to charity and recently gave his two sons shares worth millions of dollars, his net worth has dropped quite a lot.
Premji remains a global leader in the industry, but according to our findings, his net worth places him much lower in the richest people’s ranks.
Take a look at the net worth breakdown of Premji for 2024:
| Asset or Income Source | Contribution to Net Worth |
| Stake in Wipro | 4.12%-4.43% worth $1.2+ billion |
| Donated Wipro shares | -39% of total stake worth $29 billion |
| Stakes in other companies | Unknown |
| Real estate | $49.1 million |
| Total Net Worth | $9 billion |
6 Fun Facts about the Wipro CEO
- Known as the “Czar of Indian IT.”
- Took over Wipro at age 21 after his father’s death.
- Expanded Wipro from cooking oils to IT services.
- Completed his degree at Stanford in 1999, 30 years later.
- Donated $21 billion as part of the Giving Pledge.
- Ranked 69th richest person in the world in 2024.
Latest News & Update
Azim Premji continues to make headlines in 2024 for his generous contributions and his ongoing involvement with Wipro.
Despite a decline in Wipro’s share value, Premji’s net worth stands at approximately $9 billion. He remains actively engaged with the company, and Wipro’s board has recently approved his reappointment as a non-executive director through 2029. His son, Rishad Premji, will continue to serve as Wipro’s executive chairman.
Premji’s philanthropy remains a defining feature of his legacy.
Through the Azim Premji Foundation, he has donated billions to causes focused on education and healthcare in India. In recent years, Premji increased his donations by 23%, donating ₹9,713 crore (around $1.3 billion) in the fiscal year 2020-2021, which amounts to ₹27 crore per day. His charitable efforts have consistently placed him at the top of India’s philanthropy lists.
Early Life, Education, and Family
Azim Hashim Premji was born on July 24, 1945, in Bombay, India. He was born in a Khoja Ismaili Muslim family originating from Gujarat to his father, Muhammed Hashim Premji, a successful businessman known as “the Rice King of Burma.”
In 1945, Premji’s father founded Western Indian Vegetable Products Ltd., a company that manufactured hydrogenated cooking oil.
He founded the business in Amalner, producing cooking oil and laundry soap while his son was studying for his Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Stanford University.
However, in 1966, Muhammed Premji passed away, which prompted Azim Premji to drop out of school and return to India, taking charge of the family business.
Over 30 years later, Azim Premji returned to Stanford University to complete his degree. He graduated in 1999.
Today, Azim Premji is married to Yasmeen Premji, with whom he has two children, Rishad Premji, the current chairman of Wipro, and Tariq Premji.
Azim and Yasmeen Premji have a significant joint net worth, which makes them one of the wealthiest couples in India.
While he achieved his major business milestones at the helm of the company, his wife, Yasmeen Premji, worked as an assistant editor of Inside Outside and cemented her reputation in the world of philanthropy.
Azim Premji Net Worth: Becoming One of India’s Richest Billionaires
Azim Premji dropped out of school to take over his father’s position in the family business. Fast forward to 2023, and his fortune surpassed that of Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, the two richest people in India today.
Let’s see how he built such fame and fortune.
Taking Over the Family Business
At the age of 21, Azim Premji became the chairman of Wipro following his father’s death and amidst a serious shareholder revolt.
The company, then known as Western Indian Vegetable Products Ltd., was nothing like Wipro is today. It was based in Amalner, a small town in Maharashtra and it manufactured cooking oil named “Sunflower Vanaspati” and a laundry soap named “787”.
Since Azim Premji stepped into his father’s role, the company’s product line expanded to include lighting products, hydraulic cylinders, bakery fats, hair care soaps, ethnic ingredient-based toiletries, baby toiletries, and other items. In 1977, the firm’s name was changed to Wipro Products.
Wipro’s Growth under Premji’s Leadership
As the IT industry started growing in the 1980s, the entrepreneur Premji recognized its importance and jumped at the opportunity to use it for business growth.
When IBM was expelled from India, he decided to change the company’s name to Wipro Limited and started manufacturing minicomputers in collaboration with Sentinel Computer Corporation, the American brand. In a rather swift transition, he changed the company’s main focus from soaps and miscellaneous products to software services.
In 1983, Premji established Wipro Systems Ltd., the software products and exports subsidiary of the brand. Two years later, his company was already a pioneer in marketing personal computers.
In 1991, the company’s fluid power division was established and, four years later, the company set up its first overseas division at a time when Wipro Systems and Wipro Infotech merged.
In 1999, Wipro Limited was the only Indian computer manufacturer with a Y2K certification from the US National Software Testing Laboratory, and entered into a joint venture with KPN, offering Internet services in India.
In 2000, this success put Wipro on the American Depositary Receipts list in the US, making it one of India’s largest software exporters. That same year, Wipro was the second-largest business in India, as well, and got listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Wipro Limited continued to perform well in the following years, focusing mostly on the IT industry. Between 1998 and 2003, Wipro’s stock was one of the best-performing in the Indian stock exchanges.
In 2005, Wipro’s chief executive officer Vivek Paul left his role and Azim Premji took over, becoming the company’s leader until 2008.
In 2008, Wipro was managed through a joint CEO structure up until 2011 when it returned to a single leader.
Under Azim Premji’s leadership, Wipro grew tremendously, raising a $2 million annual revenue in the 1960s when his father managed the business to nearly $2 billion in 2017.
In 2019, after having successfully led the business, even through the global financial crisis in 2008, Azim Premji stepped down as the chairman of the board of Wipro and passed the reigns to his son Rishad Premji.
Philanthropic Endeavors
The Indian businessman is not only known for his business acumen. He is widely recognized for his philanthropic endeavors, working alongside his wife Yasmeen Premji to make the world a better place.
According to the Forbes India rich list, Azim Premji has given away $21 billion as part of the Giving Pledge, which is a commitment by some of the richest people in the world to donate at least half of their wealth to charitable causes. Other wealthy people who have signed the Giving Pledge include Tim Cook, Richard Branson, and Larry Page.
“I strongly believe that those of us, who are privileged to have wealth, should contribute significantly to try and create a better world for the millions who are far less privileged.” – said Premji.
Premji’s donation was made through his foundation, the Azim Premji Foundation.
He reportedly donated not only cash but also a 67% stake in Wipro, which is worth $15 billion, plus assets including his stakes in Wipro Enterprises and PremjiInvest.
However, according to the official website of the Azim Premji Foundation, this number reached $29 billion in 2023, with 66% of the economic ownership of Wipro Limited invested in the foundation.
The foundation was funded solely by the businessman by transferring his personal Wipro shares. Premji’s Wipro stock was reduced by 39% total after this. After the transaction, the Premji family owned 4.43% of the shares in the company, with Azim Premji owning the majority (4.12%) and his wife Yasmeen Premji and his two sons owning the rest.
The total family stake of 4.32% or 22,58,08,537 of Wipro’s shares is worth over INR 103.5 billion in April 2024, or around $1.2 billion.
The Azim Premji Foundation charity was founded in 2001 as a non-profit organization whose main focus is improving school education in India.
As such, the Azim Premji Foundation charity works with the country’s governments and educational institutions to improve education.
The foundation is building a network of universities, starting with Azim Premji University in Bengaluru, which was set up in 2010 and followed by another university in Bhopal. The work on the third university in Ranchi is underway at the moment.
Awards and Recognitions
As a major philanthropist and a successful businessman, Azim Premji has often been recognized and awarded for his actions. Here are some of his most notable accolades so far:
- 2000: Received an honorary doctorate from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education
- 2005: Awarded “Lakshya Business Visionary” by the National Institute of Industrial Engineering in Mumbai
- 2005: Honored with the Padma Bhushan title for his work in commerce and trade
- 2009: Received an honorary doctorate from Wesleyan University in Connecticut for his philanthropic endeavors
- 2009: Recognized as the “Greatest Entrepreneurs” worldwide by Business Week
- 2011: Awarded the Padma Vibhushan award by the Government of India
- 2015: Received an honorary doctorate by Mysore University
- 2017: Ranked 9th in India’s Most Powerful People by India Today
- 2018: Conferred with the highest French civilian distinction Knight of the Legion of Honor
- 2019: Listed as one of the heroes of philanthropy in the Asia-Pacific region by Forbes Magazine
Azim Premji Net Worth: Remaining Investments and Assets
Aside from his ownership and work at his Wipro, Azim Premji doesn’t publicly disclose much about his other investments.
We do, however, know that he owns a family wealth management company called PremjiInvest, which invests in a variety of private and public companies, and manages around $3 billion of his wealth these days.
Innovation Center
He also reportedly has an innovation center based in Silicon Valley where his team collaborates with startups to create new technologies.
So far, he has invested in companies like:
- GlobalBees;
- Icertis;
- SpotDraft;
- Purple;
- The Sleep Company
Note: the stake in these businesses hasn’t been publicly disclosed.
Real Estate
Azim Premji owns at least one property, the family’s primary residence in Bangalore, where he lives with his wife Yasmeen Premji. The home is worth Rs 350 crore or around $41.9 million.
What Can We Learn from Azim Premji’s Story?
Azim Premji’s journey from becoming the chairman of Wipro to stepping down and assigning his son to the position teaches us that leadership demands knowing when to give up the reigns.
Azim Premji completely transformed Wipro during his time at the company’s helm, and his decision to appoint his son, Rishad Premji as his successor highlights the importance of family succession in business continuity.
As the former chairman of Wipro, Premji understood the importance of grooming the next generation to lead the company to a stronger future. By entrusting the reins to his son, Premji ensured a seamless transition of leadership, all while preserving the family legacy.
Speaking of family, Azim Premji has spent his life working alongside his wife Yasmeen Premji to contribute to causes they both find important.
He and his wife Yasmeen Premji have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to philanthropy, making significant contributions to society and building their reputation as one of India’s kindest-hearted couples.
Premji’s philanthropic efforts, including his incredibly generous donations to his foundation, reflect his deep-seated belief in giving back to society.
His fortune, at one time, surpassed that of India’s Richest person, Reliance Industries Limited chairman Mukesh Ambani.
Today, due to his exorbitant donations to improve school education in India as well as support other causes, Azim Premji witnessed a significant fortune drop, but also left an indelible mark on the lives of many people.