Ritesh Agarwal, who was born in Bissam Cuttack, Odisha, India and raised in Titilagarh, comes from a Marwari family with a small shop in Rayagada, a Southern Odisha city, where he completed his schooling at Sacred Heart School. Ritesh’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident at a young age of 13 when he started selling SIM cards. He moved to Kota, Rajasthan, and graduated from St. Johns Senior Secondary School before going to college in Delhi in 2011. However, he dropped out of college and was accepted into the Thiel Fellowship program started by Peter Thiel in 2013.
Ritesh’s passion for entrepreneurship led him to launch Oravel Stays, a budget accommodation portal for booking budget hotels. Venture Nursery accepted the company into the accelerator program in September 2012, and it was later one of the winners of the 2013 Thiel Fellowship program, receiving a grant of $100,000. OYO Rooms was launched in May 2013, and the company quickly gained attention in the hospitality industry.
OYO raised a whopping $1 billion in funding in September 2018, and in July 2019, Ritesh Agarwal tripled his stake in the company by purchasing $2 billion in shares. According to the Hurun Rich List 2020, his net worth was estimated to be approximately $1.1 billion (₹7253 crore), making him the world’s youngest self-made billionaire.
Ritesh’s innovative entrepreneurship and business acumen have earned him a spot on Forbes’ 30 under 30 list for Asia. Ritesh Agarwal’s success story is an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs worldwide, as he has become one of the young richest men in India with a net worth of approximately $403.3 million (Rupees – 3,009 Crores).
Read also: Ritesh Agarwal net worth: How much does he worth?
Who are Ritesh Agarwal’s parents?
There is no available information on the names of Ritesh Agarwal’s parents. However, it is known that he comes from a Marwari family, and his family used to run a small shop in Rayagada, a city in Southern Odisha. Ritesh was born and raised in Titilagarh, a town in Odisha, India.
Ritesh’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident from a young age. He started selling SIM cards when he was just 13 years old. Despite coming from a well-off family, he was afraid that his family would end his entrepreneurial dreams and call him back to Odisha if they knew of his struggles. This fear led him to work hard and hustle to make his dreams a reality. Ritesh dropped out of college to pursue his passion for entrepreneurship, which ultimately led him to launch his first start-up, Oravel Stays Pvt. Ltd., at the age of 17.
