Meet India's youngest billionaire, Ritesh Agarwal, at just 32
Ritesh Agarwal, the founder of OYO Rooms, just became India's youngest billionaire at 32, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2026.
With a net worth of ₹14,440 crore, he is significantly younger than the average Indian billionaire, whose age is about 67 years.
Early life and entrepreneurial journey
Growing up in Odisha in a family that ran a small shop, Agarwal was exposed to business from an early age through his family's business activities.
He dropped out of college in Delhi and launched Oravel Stays at 18 before founding OYO at just 19.
Early funding and hustle set him on the path to build something big.
OYO's growth and transformation
Agarwal received the Thiel Fellowship around the same time (circa 2012-2013), a $100,000 grant, that helped him transform Oravel into OYO.
At one point, OYO operated over 330,000 rooms across more than 500 cities worldwide and has backing from major investors like SoftBank and Sequoia Capital.
After the COVID-19 crisis, OYO focused on profitability and premium hotel partnerships.