'World's richest beggar' earns ₹7.5cr by begging, owns flats, shop
What's the story
Bharat Jain, a Mumbai resident, has been crowned the "world's richest beggar" with a ₹7.5 crore fortune, all earned through begging. His assets include two flats worth ₹1.5 crore and a stationery store that adds to his income. Despite his family's disapproval, Jain is determined to continue his unusual profession, telling the Economic Times, "I enjoy begging and I don't want to give it up."
Begging schedule
Jain's daily routine and additional income sources
Jain spends 12 hours every day begging, earning around ₹2,500 every day. This unusual profession gives him a monthly income of around ₹75,000. Apart from his flats, he also owns two shops in Thane, which give him a monthly rental income of ₹30,000. Jain lives with his wife, two children, father, and brother. His kids studied at a popular convent school and now help him run the family's stationery store.
Begging experiment
Other instances of begging in India
In another related story from Kolkata, Instagram user Pantha Deb decided to try a 24-hour begging challenge to see how people would react and how much money he could earn. Wearing tattered clothes and carrying a begging bowl, Deb managed to collect only ₹34 by the end of the day, which he donated to a homeless woman.
Coerced begging
Forced begging case in Rajasthan
Separately, a woman in Rajasthan, Indra Bai, was reported to police for making her five children beg. She earned ₹2.5 lakh in 45 days. She strategically placed her elder kids at Indore's Luv Kush Square for begging since it was a transit point to Ujjain's Mahakal temple. Bai owns a plot of land, a two-storey house in Rajasthan's Kota, a motorcycle, and a phone worth ₹20,000, per TOI.