Who is Nikhil Kamath, the billionaire who took PM Modi’s first podcast interview?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in his first podcast interview, which was released on Friday.

The Prime Minister appeared on Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, ‘People’ by WTF. Speculation had already begun earlier this week after Kamath posted a cryptic teaser on X.

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“This is the first time I have appeared on a podcast. I don’t know how your viewers will react," Modi said after Kamath admitted that having a conversation with the PM was a “huge” moment for him.

During the podcast, they discussed topics like the similarities between politics and entrepreneurship. Kamath also shared his vision for the series and discussed his aim to spotlight the common challenges that leaders in both fields face.

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Who is Nikhil Kamath?

Nikhil Kamath is the co-founder of the discount brokerage firm Zerodha, which he established in 2010 with his elder brother Nithin Kamath.

In addition to Zerodha, Nikhil is associated with ventures like True Beacon and Grhuas. Zerodha, based in Bengaluru, serves over 10 million clients, making it one of India’s largest brokerage firms, according to Forbes.

The Kamath brothers, both billionaires, own nearly all the shares in the company. As of FY24, Zerodha manages assets worth over ₹5.6 lakh crore and earned an annual profit exceeding ₹4,700 crore. It ranks second in market share behind Groww, an app-based broker launched in 2016, according to data from B&K Securities.

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Kamath was featured on the 2024 Forbes World Billionaires List with a net worth of $3 billion. His brother, Nithin, is also on Forbes’ list of India’s 100 Richest for 2024.

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Nikhil, who serves as Zerodha’s Chief Financial Officer, launched the WTF Fund to support entrepreneurs under 22 in industries like fashion, beauty, and home sectors.

Meanwhile, Nithin, who has a background in trading and finance and holds an engineering degree from the Bangalore Institute of Technology, serves as Zerodha’s CEO.

Notably, Nikhil is the youngest Indian member of The Giving Pledge, an initiative by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, where signatories commit to donating most or all of their wealth to philanthropy.

In 2023, the 38-year-old billionaire donated ₹120 crore to the Rainmatter Foundation, ranking him among India’s top philanthropists. In the same year, Nikhil and Nithin Kamath featured in the Hurun list after donating ₹110 crore towards combating climate change and promoting environmental sustainability.

Kamath also leads the Young Indian Philanthropic Pledge (YIPP), which encourages leaders in the startup ecosystem to pledge up to 25% of their net worth to charitable causes.

From school dropout to billionaire

In a conversation with LinkedIn’s global CEO Ryan Roslansky last year, the Zerodha co-founder shared how his failures became his most valuable lessons.

“I think I’ve learned everything I have learned only through failures,” Nikhil said.

“I don’t think success teaches much outside of creating an ecosystem where it is easier for you to get complacent.”

Roslansky, in a LinkedIn post, discussed Kamath’s journey, “As a dropout, he took what for almost anyone else would have been a soul-crushing job: Night shift at a call centre.”

While working in customer service, Kamath taught himself stock trading. His boss was so impressed by his skills that he asked Kamath to manage his investments. Before long, Kamath was managing investments for his entire team, earning more from commissions than his job.

“That was the lightbulb moment for what became a rule-breaking journey through India’s financial world, where, to this day, he challenges traditional norms and empowers everyday individuals to take control,” the LinkedIn post read.

The Nikhil-Modi conversation

In his debut podcast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that young people should enter politics with a mission rather than ambition.

“It is one thing to enter politics, being successful in politics is another. The second happens when you are a team player and are dedicated to people’s welfare. People should enter politics with a mission, not ambition,” Modi said.

#PMModiPodcast | 'People should come into politics with a mission, not ambition' says PM Modi in his debut podcast

Courtesy: Narendra Modi Youtube#PMModi #NikhilKamath #Podcast pic.twitter.com/LQpp2gh2fk

— News18 (@CNNnews18) January 10, 2025

He also said, “Most people don’t say they want to be a politician. They seek posts like MLA, corporator, MP, etc…Coming to politics is not necessarily fighting an election. Fighting an election is part of a democratic process. It is about winning people’s hearts, by living among them. There are such people.”

The Prime Minister also called for a broader perspective on politics, urging a shift from focusing on elections to making impactful contributions to society.

“We need to come out of this politics limited to electing MPs or MLAs. If we are associated with any work related to society, it creates a greater political impact. If anyone runs a small ashram and educates girls. Even if he/she does not contest elections, but the effort creates a political impact,” he explained.

With his podcast ‘WTF is’, Nikhil Kamath brings together friends and industry experts for casual yet thought-provoking discussions. The show delves into diverse topics, including technology, social media, electric vehicles, renewable energy, gaming, philosophy, and psychology.

With inputs from agencies