Story of self-made billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal of Bharti Enterprises

Here is the journey from small cycle business to largest telecom services provider

According to Forbes, Sunil Bharti Mittal is the twelfth richest person in India, with a real-time net worth of about Rs 1.065 lakh crore as of 24 January 2022. Sunil Bharti Mittal is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur who is the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises which is engaged in varied businesses such as telecom, space, insurance, real estate, hospitality and food. Bharti Airtel is one of if not the largest telecom companies in India and forms an integral part of Bharti enterprises.   

Sunil Mittal comes from a family with a political background. His father, Sat Paul Mittal, had been the Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. Sunil completed his graduation with a Bachelor of Arts and Science from Punjab University. This self-made billionaire started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 18 by making crankshafts for local bicycle manufacturers with a capital investment of Rs 20,000, borrowed from his father. Eventually, he got engaged in a variety of businesses. Along with his brothers, he started an import enterprise called Bharti Overseas Trading Company in 1980. He also got a dealership with Suzuki Motors to import portable electric-powered generators from Japan. Later in 1984, he started assembling push-button phones in India. It was the time when he launched Bharti Telecom Ltd. The government invited bids for mobile telephony in 1992 and he successfully bid for one of the four mobile phone network licenses auctioned.

Through collaborations with international players, he had launched the brand Airtel and had started providing telecom services. It has been quite a revolutionary journey for a private player in such a massive technology industry. Over time, he has made Bharti Airtel India’s largest telecom provider and the second-largest mobile operator in Africa.

He has been awarded Padma Bhushan in 2007 and has served on many international bodies such as the chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce among many. This humble person has also been a revered philanthropist as he stresses greatly upon education for the weaker section of society.