Summary

Nikhil Kamath, born on 5th September 1986, was brought up in a small town of Udupi called Udyavara . Kamath dropped out of school after 10th grade and has no formal degree. He is the co-founder of Zerodha, a retail stockbroker, and True Beacon, an asset management company. Kamath started his career working at a call centre while also doing equity trading on the side. In 2006, he became a sub-broker and started his brokerage firm with his brother Kamath Associates to manage high-net-worth individual portfolios in the public markets.

Personal Information

Key Achievements & Major Timelines

• In 2010, Nikhil Kamath co-founded the discount brokerage Zerodha with his older brother Nithin Kamath.
• The Bengaluru-based brokerage firm Zerodha has 8 million clients, making it one of the largest in the market.
• Their venture capital fund Rainmatter, invests in fintech companies and ventures that promote financial inclusion.
• In 2019, he co-founded True Beacon, an investment management firm that is aimed at ultra-high-net-worth investors and operates on a zero-fee model.
• In 2021, Kamath co-founded Gruhas, a real estate investments and prop tech company. Gruhas invests in incubators, startups, and special situations through its Protech-focused fund.
• In 2023, Kamath started hosting the 'WTF is' podcast. Throughout the year, he has hosted many public figures and entrepreneurs.
• In June 2023, he signed The Giving Pledge, committing to donate 50% of his wealth to charitable causes such as climate change, education, and health care.
• Nikhil Kamath co-owns the Bengaluru franchise for Season 2 of the Global e-Cricket Premiere League. (GEPL)

Challenges & Controversies

In June 2021, Kamath participated in an online charity chess match against five-time world chess champion, Vishwanath Anand, to raise funds for those suffering due to Covid 19 pandemic. During the event, Kamath used the assistance of chess analysts and computers. Kamath later apologised, and Chess.com, the virtual platform used to play the charity game, decided to ban his account.