Excuse me if I feel jealous, but it does pay to be better halves of wealthy industrialists. I’m not sure if the term ‘better half’ applies to the female human specie only. I hope it doesn’t, for frankly I won’t mind playing the second fiddle to my wealthy woman if it were so.
Unfortunately for me – for us rather – that is not the case. We earn just about enough to make a just about decent living. And when occasions arise such as the ET news of April 15 last about cash-rich better halves, I do try to rise to the occasion to feel flustered with envy.
Okay, so what did the ET news say? It informs that while Kokilaben Ambani holds 0.25% of RIL, his worthy son Mukesh holds less than half her holding at 0.12%.
And while Sudha Gopalakrishnan, wife of Infosys’ present CEO, has 2.15% of the software major to her name, that of Nandan Nilekani is at 1.46%.
The picture is similar with several high profile Indian companies that have leapfrogged from small bases to now occupy the center stage. Heading this heady list is Pia Singh, daughter of KP Singh of DLF. Pia’s 2.27% stake is valued at Rs.2314.26 crore.
Next to Pia are Sudha, her Infosys stock worth Rs.1748.19 crore, and Kolkilaben whose RIL stake is valued at Rs.934.65 crore.
Kokilaben is lucky because she has holdings in younger son Anil’s companies as well. That comes to Rs.371.35 crore, taking the total of her shareholding worth in her son’s companies to Rs.1306.1 crore.
A notable ‘absentee’ in the list is Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon where she owns close to 40% of the total shareholding. Kiran, a 2005 Padma Bhusan recipient, runs Biocon herself, and is a glorious example of female entrepreneurship achieving singular success.
Commemorating 30 years of its coming into being next November, Biocon has just dished out a 1:1 bonus, and an attractive Rs.5 dividend per share including a special dividend of Rs.2.
Kiran in a famous lip-lock with Rajasthan CM, Vasundhara Rajeat a function in November 2006 [image source]
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