Latest news with #BBI
Mint
14-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Meet Rakesh Gangwal, IndiGo co-founder and Southwest Airlines Chair, on Forbes' ‘America's Richest Immigrants 2025' list
Business publication Forbes last week released its lists of richest Americans for this year, 2025, and also included a nod to the many immigrants in the US. In fact, top three of the top 10 richest people in America are immigrants — Elon Musk (from South Africa, ranked first with an estimated $393.1 billion), Sergey Brin (Russia, second with 139.7 billion), and Jensen Huang (Taiwan, third with $137.9 billion). All data is latest as of July 7, 2025. Notably, Rakesh Gangwal, co-founder of IndiGo Airlines parent InterGlobe Aviation and Chairman of the Southwest Airlines board of directors, has made it to the Forbes list at the 29th spot with a net worth of $6.6 billion. According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index (BBI), Rakesh Gangwal is worth an estimated $7.83 billion, largely from his 14 per cent stake in India's biggest airline by market share, IndiGo. His stake in InterGlobe Aviation, a Gurgaon-based airline services provider and the operator of IndiGo, is held directly and through a trust, as per a BB report. Born in 1953 in Kolkata, Rakesh Gangwal earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from the India Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT – Kanpur) in 1975; followed by an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He began his career as a financial analyst at Ford Motor Co. and as a production and planning engineer with Philips India. In was associated with United Airlines in 1980 and joined the airline in 1984 as a manager for strategic planning, according to Bloomberg. He became an executive vice president for Air France in 1994, and then later became CEO of US Airways in 1998, from where he resigned in 2001 before founding IndiGo in 2006, which listed in 2015, the BB report added. He was appointed the Chairman of Southwest Airlines board of directors in November 2024. Nearly two-thirds of the 125 billionaire immigrants identified by Forbes were born in these 10 countries and territories. India topped the 2025 list with 12 immigrant billionaires, compared to 7 in 2022. It was followed by Israel and Taiwan, each having 11 billionaires on the 2025 list, compared to 10 and four from 2022. Canada comes in next with nine billionaires in 2025, compared to eight in 2022; followed by China with eight billionaires this year, up from seven in 2022. Germany and Iran are the next tie, each with six billionaire immigrants in the US in 2025, up from six and two, respectively since 2022. The next three spots were: France with five (2025 and 2022), followed by tied Hungary with four (2025 and 2022) and Ukraine with four (three in 2022). The Forbes 'America's Richest Immigrants 2025' list features a record 125 foreign-born US citizens who are billionaires, a significant jump from the 92 tallied in 2022, data showed. Hailing from 41 countries, these immigrants gained their wealth in the US and currently live in the country, it added. They hail from 41 countries but became rich in America and account for 14 per cent of the country's billionaires, it added. The people on the list hold a record $1.3 trillion combined, which is 18 per cent of America's $7.2 trillion in total billionaire wealth. Further, a whopping 93 per cent of these billionaires are self-made — nearly 70 per cent from either the tech or finance sectors. Elon Musk — worth $393.1 billion — Tesla, SpaceX — South Africa Sergey Brin — worth $139.7 billion — Google — Russia Jensen Huang — worth $137.9 billion — Nvidia — Taiwan Thomas Peterffy — worth $67.9 billion — Interactive Brokers — Hungary Miriam Adelson & family — worth $33.4 billion — Las Vegas Sands — Israel
Metro
30-06-2025
- Business
- Metro
Meet the Black entrepreneurs shaping UK's future - Metro partners with BBI
Metro is joining forces with the Black British Initiative (BBI) to boost representation for underprivileged Black entrepreneurs across the UK through a 12-month content partnership. The UK newsbrand with the most diverse audience will highlight the excellence of Black businessmen and women through a series of creative storytelling – starting with an interview with CEO and founder Darren Miller and a profile piece on Isabelle Pennington-Edmead, a fashion designer who started her own successful slow-fashion brand. The series will continue with profiles on 11 more stand-out entrepreneurs who have fascinating stories to share about their journey from startup to entrepreneurial excellence. Next, we will hear from personal trainer, Patrick Hutchinson, and gallery owner Aki Abiola. Bookmark the link to the tag page to follow along each month. For those unfamiliar with BBI, the organisation was founded in 2023 and at its heart is MBA30, an initiative that provides business training for Black entrepreneurs. The goal is to help address the cultural and race-based barriers experienced by aspiring Black businesspeople and the disparity of wealth in the UK. Between 2009-2019, just 0.24% of UK venture capital investment went to Black entrepreneurs, highlighting the systematic hurdles Black businesses face when securing financing. What's more, statistics from the Runnymede Trust show that Black households have on average nine times less wealth than white households. BBI CEO and founder Darren Miller, himself a successful entrepreneur, firmly believes executive education can help close this gap. One of his biggest challenges when starting out with his first business was pitching for investment without having the specialist knowledge to prepare him for the sort of technical financial scouring that would have applied to his business models. As a result, he tells Metro, securing funding was hard and he was often turned down for businesses he deemed 'rock solid'. 'They could see things I couldn't, and it put me at a major disadvantage,' Darren explains. Working with Metro, BBI now hopes to train up 3,000 entrepreneurs by 2030, playing a key role in unlocking the £75 billion economic growth opportunity that could come from a boost to Black-owned business. More Trending Darren says: 'Black and ethnic entrepreneurs could add up to £75bn to the UK's GDP, that is a huge 'win-win' and our mission is to help realise that potential.' He adds: 'The leadership and vision shown by the Metro is exemplary. Like BBI, they realise in order for the UK to be at its very best, every community must make a full contribution. Metro Editor-in-Chief, Deborah Arthurs says: 'Partnering with BBI aligns with our mission to reflect the diversity of the UK, and indeed our readership, to champion entrepreneurial ambition that too often goes unsupported. 'Darren's story is a powerful reminder of how much potential exists when talent meets opportunity — and why visibility, investment and education are key to unlocking more talent and a more inclusive and prosperous economy.' MORE: I didn't know the word entrepreneur growing up — now I help Black-owned businesses thrive MORE: I built a fashion business from the ground up — you don't need entrepreneur family to succeed
Metro
26-06-2025
- Business
- Metro
Meet the CEO on a mission to help Black businesses thrive in the UK
London-Born entrepreneur Darren Miller is the CEO and founder of Black British Initiative (BBI), a charitable organisation set up in 2023 with the goal of eradicating racial injustice. At the heart of BBI is MBA 30, an initiative that provides business training for Black entrepreneurs. Darren set up his first business aged 20 before moving into property development and luxury Italian interiors, subsequently working with the Saatchi Gallery and Design Museum among others. Here, he talks about his childhood in Nunhead, how he became an entrepreneur and his aim to elevate Black business through executive education. My parents came to the UK at the tail-end of the Windrush generation. I grew up in Nunhead, south-east London, in a close-knit Jamaican community. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video My school was awful. Most of the students were Afro-Caribbean and 90% of the teachers were white. Expectations were very low. Most boys left at 16 and went off to get a job – not a career – and only one or two got even one A-level. University wasn't mentioned. When I said I wanted to be a pilot, the teachers laughed. 'Miller, think about being a painter and decorator. Electrician if you're lucky.' I didn't even know the word entrepreneur back then. But in my first job at United Technologies, I started to get recognised and promoted. My manager said to me one day, 'Darren, you are able to just pick up the ball and run with it.' It was the first time I'd thought I might be able to run my own business. A chance conversation in a Chinese takeaway gave me the idea and I decided to pursue it. I was 20, my brother was 18. I was young and impetuous and thought I could conquer the world. To my mum's horror, I dragged my brother out of his safe job at NatWest, and we started our first business. It wasn't sexy, it was linen hire, providing napkins and tablecloths to restaurants: a tough industry, but we had a lucky break and got established. We ran it for four or five years then sold it for a great profit. We were in a position to really scale the business and went to one of the big four high-street banks to borrow some money, but got turned down. We thought we had a rock-solid case but the bank wouldn't back it. Difficulty getting funding, even when I had a solid business proposition, has been a constant. I believe race is a factor. There are systemic structural and institutional barriers. The people I was speaking to often had benefitted from a private education and had amazing networks. They knew about investment and had been to business school and would look at my balance sheet and see things even I didn't know. That put me at a massive disadvantage. I realised that executive education is important. We have found a way to democratise MBAs. An MBA is super-powerful, but can cost up to £100k, and can take a year or more full-time. The only mini MBA solely focused on Black entrepreneurs, it is accredited by SOAS University of London and costs just £3,250. We cherry-picked the nine most important modules and now run them for nine days over the course of a month. What makes ours even more exceptional is that we bring in at least two industry contributors per day – from the Bank Of England, Vodafone, Sky, Condé Nast, Mastercard and JP Morgan among others. That wealth disparity doesn't exist. Runnymede Trust statistics show Black and African households have nine times less wealth than white British ones, yet their businesses could contribute up to £75billion to the country's GDP. By failing to support Black entrepreneurs, we are overlooking financial growth that the country needs. If you can see someone like you, it acts as a beacon. It's like a light shining on the pathway – when you have moments when you want to stop, it helps you think, 'You know what? If they did it, I can do it too.' For us, a dynamic, small but exciting charity, this partnership is transformative. It shows that even though we live in a time whenDEI [diversity, equity, inclusion] and social equality don't get the limelight they deserve, there are organisations out there who understand the importance of driving social mobility and what it means for the UK at large. Metro is an exemplar and my hope is others follow its lead. To educate 5,000 entrepreneurs by 2030. Perfectly aligning with this are our exciting MBA 30 Emerging Entrepreneur Awards 2025. View More » Working with Metro, these awards will give cash-strapped entrepreneurs marketing opportunities that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive, as well as potential access to up to £1.5million of funding. Change has to come. Metro is joining forces with the Black British Initiative (BBI) to boost representation for underprivileged Black entrepreneurs across the UK through a 12-month content partnership. Starting with an interview with CEO and founder Darren Miller, Metro, the UK news brand with the most diverse audience, will highlight the excellence of Black businessmen and women through a series of creative storytelling. Follow along by bookmarking this link and return every month to meet a new entrepreneur. Want to join the next MBA30 cohort - and have a chance to enter the MBA30 Emerging Entrepreneur Awards? Register your interest by emailing mba@ MORE: No7 Beauty Vault is back with £105 worth of beauty products and £250 travel voucher MORE: This top-rated mattress is like 'sleeping like a marshmallow' – and it's on sale MORE: Glastonbury crowds fuming about sound 'issues' on day one – but there's a good reason why Your free newsletter guide to the best London has on offer, from drinks deals to restaurant reviews.
Mint
19-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Who is Mark Walter, the billionaire Dodgers owner buying LA Lakers from Buss family?
Billionaire Mark Walter is buying the Los Angeles Lakers (LA Lakers) for a whopping $10 billion from the Buss family that has held the National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise for 46 years, according to an ESPN report, citing sources. The iconic franchise has won 17 NBA titles, and is second only after the Boston Celtics. The Buss family will sell its majority stake to Walters, who also owns the LA Dodgers baseball franchise. This comes after he purchase a stake in the franchise in 2021, and agreed to get 'right of refusal' if a majority stake was ever put up for sale, according to a Bloomberg report. Notably, the Buss family purchased the Lakers for $67.5 million in 1979; and Jeanie Buss, who has helmed the team since her father Jerry Buss died in 2013, will continue to hold that role, the report said. Notably, the $10 billion valuation is a record breaker — exceeding that $6.1 billion price tag for the Celtics in March 2025, when it was bought by a group led by Bill Chisholm, as per the Bloomberg report. Outside of the NBA, the next largest sale was the $6.05 billion deal for the National Football Leagues's Washington Commanders, bought by Josh Harris, co-founder of Apollo Management, the BB report added. Other expensive deals in the US sports space this year include, the NBA's Phoenix Suns being purchased by Mat Ishbia for $4 billion; the Dallas Mavericks' $3.5 billion sale to the Adelson family; and former NBA superstar Michael Jordan's $3 billion sale of the Charlotte Hornets. Worth $12.5 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index (BBI), Mark Walter is the CEO of Guggenheim Partners LLC, a financial services firm with over $325 billion in assets. In sports, he is the CEO of holding company TWG Global, which owns baseball sports franchise the LA Dodgers, and the Women's NBA team LA Sparks; besides owning the newly formed Cadillac Formula One team, the Billie Jean King Cup tennis tournament and the professional women's hockey league, according to reports by AFP and Bloomberg. He is also part of the ownership group of English Premier League (EPL) football club Chelsea, the AFP report added. (With inputs from Bloomberg and AFP)
Mint
15-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
THIS billionaire surpassed Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos to be second richest person on Forbes real-time list
Oracle's post earnings report stock jump has propelled founder-chairman Larry Ellison past Meta Platforms chief Mark Zuckerberg and founder Jeff Bezos to become the second richest person in the world, according to the Forbes' 'World's real-time billionaires' list 2025. Notably, in the Forbes 'World's Billionaires List for 2025' released in April 2025, Larry Ellison was placed at fourth spot with a net worth of $192 billion. That means that in two months, the tech billionaire has gained $66.8 billion. The bulk of this increase comes from his stock in Oracle, which jumped on June 13 post its glowing earnings report, which beat Wall Street expectations. It posted adjusted earnings of $1.70 per share on revenue of $15.9 billion. The news pushed shares to $200/apiece at closing on June 13, reflecting faith in the company's long-term growth and direction in the artificial intelligence space. Notably, the company has been at the forefront of United States President Donald Trump's push for AI infrastructure in the country — i.e. Project Stargate, alongside OpenAI and SoftBank. At time of writing, 80-year-old Larry Ellison was worth $258.8 billion, taking his place as the second richest person in the world, behind only Tesla chief Elon Musk (53 years old), who has retained his number one spot on the list, with net worth of $410.8 billion, it showed. Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg (43), who was number two, has moved down one spot at #3, with net worth of $235.7 billion; and Amazon's Jeff Bezos (61), currently in the news ahead of his impending marriage to Lauren Sanchez, has also slipped one spot to #4 with net worth of $226.8 billion, the Forbes list data showed on June 15. Rounding off the top five is recently retired Berkshire Hathaway founder Warren Buffett (94), whose wealth is recorded at $152.1 billion. Notably, as per the Bloomberg Billionaire Index (BBI) on June 15, Larry Ellison is the third richest person in the world with net worth of $234 billion, up $13.9 billion. Larry Ellison has pushed Jeff Bezos to the fourth spot, with wealth of $233 billion, down $936 million, on date. Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg retain their number one and two spot on this list, with net worth of $368 billion (up 4.43 billion), and $241 billion (down $3.57 billion), respectively. The top five includes Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, with net worth of $177 billion (down 248 million), as on date.
