Duo loses almost a billion dollars of their combined personal wealth, largely on account of higher fuel prices and a depreciating rupee
Rahul Bhatia started IndiGo with Rakesh Gangwal in 2006
Image: Ramesh Pathania / Mint via Getty Images
Bearish investor sentiments for the InterGlobe Aviation stock saw the father-son duo of Kapil, 86, and Rahul Bhatia, 58, lose almost a billion dollars in their combined personal wealth. InterGlobe Aviation owns and operates India’s largest and most profitable airline, IndiGo. The former is executive chairman while the latter is group managing director of InterGlobe Enterprises, which has a 38 percent stake in InterGlobe Aviation; they are ranked 41 on the 2018 Forbes India Rich List, with an estimated net worth of $3.55 billion. Last year, they were at No 31 with a fortune of $4.4 billion.
This is the first year that the Bhatias have seen their personal wealth fall, after having seen it more than triple from $1.29 billion in 2012 to $4.4 billion last year. Clearly, InterGlobe Aviation’s share price, which fell from ₹1,250 apiece in September 2017 to about ₹850 apiece this September, has had a direct impact on their wealth.
(This story appears in the 28 December, 2018 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)