In India, when someone from the lower sections of the society makes it to the top; it is always an eureka moment for others watching the success from outside. Here’s the story of one such billionaire from India who is known as the ‘India’s ‘Billionaire Barber’.What makes it more interesting is his successful empire, which grew exponentially in just 2 decades of his efforts.
Ramesh Babu From Bengaluru
Indeed he is actually a barber who owns a salon in Bengaluru. Today, Ramesh Babu owns more than 400 cars, most of them from luxury brands like BMW, Jaguar, and even Rolls Royce making him one of the richest entrepreneurs of the country.
Ramesh Babu Early Life
Born and raised in Bengaluru, Ramesh lost his father at an early age, in the year 1979, and found his family mired in conflict and poverty. “My father left a saloon in Brigade Road. My uncle took care of it and paid us ₹5 each day,” the entrepreneur recalls. Those early years weren’t easy, as Ramesh, his mother, grandmother and siblings struggled for even basic essentials like food and clothing.
After the death of Ramesh Babu’s father, his mother could not run the barbershop and she rented it out for Rs 5 a day. He started part-time newspaper delivery work, milk home delivery and whatever else was convenient at age of 13 to support his family.
Turning Point Of His Life
Ramesh stepped into business with no resources except the determination to succeed. He used family savings to renovate the saloon and roped in two workers to run the place.
Ramesh always wanted to buy cars as he was very fond of automobiles from a young age so he mortgaged his family house with the consent of his grandfather and bought his first Maruti van.“I’d sit in my saloon and customers would often take the car on rent,” he says.
Ramesh steadily gathered a sizable customer base and he realised the potential of operating a high-end automobile rental service and began to build a fleet of cars.In the mid 2000s, Ramesh received a proposal from Mercedes India to buy a model. He had been eyeing the models for a few years and saw an opportunity. He put together his small savings and raised the rest of the amount through a bank loan.
Today Ramesh owns Ramesh Tours and Travels and has been collecting expensive cars for over 30 years now with bases in Delhi Chennai, Bengaluru and the entrepreneur hopes to conquer his service in different locations across the country.
