Azim Premji

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Azim Premji


Occupation
Founder Chairman of Wipro



Azim Hashim Premji (born 24 July 1945) is an Indian billionaire businessman and philanthropist, who was the chairman of Wipro. Premji remains a non-executive member of the board and founder chairman.[2][3][4] In 2010, he was voted among the 20 most powerful men in the world by Asiaweek.[5] He was listed among the 100 most influential people by Time magazine, in 2004 and 2011.[6] For years, he has been regularly listed one among The 500 Most Influential Muslims.[7][8] He also serves as the Chancellor of Azim Premji University, Bangalore. Premji was awarded Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, by the Government of India.[9]

In October 2023, Forbes estimated Premji's net worth at $11.6 billion.[10] In 2013, he signed the Giving Pledge, committing to give away at least half of his wealth, starting with a $2.2 billion donation to the Azim Premji Foundation, focused on education in India.[11] He has topped the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List on multiple occasions.[12][13]

Early life and education

Premji was born in Bombay, British India in a Gujarati Ismaili Khoja Muslim family.[1][14] His father was a noted businessman and was known as Rice King of Burma. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, invited his father Muhammed Hashim Premji to come to Pakistan, he turned down the request and chose to remain in India.[15]

Premji has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from Stanford University.[16] He is married to Yasmeen Premji. The couple have two children, Rishad and Tariq. Rishad Premji is currently the Chairman of the Wipro.[17]

Career

In 1945, Muhammed Hashim Premji incorporated Western Indian Vegetable Products Ltd, based at Amalner, a small town in the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. It used to manufacture cooking oil under the brand name Sunflower Vanaspati, and a laundry soap called 787, a byproduct of oil manufacture.[18] In 1966, on the news of his father's death, the then 21-year-old Azim Premji returned home from Stanford University, where he was studying engineering, to take charge of Wipro.[19] The company, which was called Western Indian Vegetable Products at the time, dealt in hydrogenated oil manufacturing but Azim Premji later diversified the company to bakery fats, ethnic ingredient based toiletries, hair care soaps, baby toiletries, lighting products, and hydraulic cylinders. In the 1980s, in the aftermath of the expulsion of IBM from India, Premji changed the company name to Wipro and entered the high-technology sector by manufacturing minicomputers in technological collaboration with an American company Sentinel Computer Corporation.[20][21] Thereafter, Premji made a focused shift from soaps to software.[22]

In 2006, Premji set up his family office named PremjiInvest (PI).[23][24]

Recognition

File:The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Padma Vibhushan Award to Shri Azim Premji, at an Investiture Ceremony II, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on April 01, 2011.jpg
Premji receiving the Padma Vibhushan Award from President of India, Pratibha Patil, in April 2011

Philanthropy

Azim Premji Foundation

In 2001, he founded the Azim Premji Foundation, a non-profit organization[34] focused on improving the public school system in disadvantaged regions of India.[35]

In December 2010, he pledged to donate US$2 billion for improving school education in India by transferring 213 million equity shares or 8.7% stake in Wipro, held by a few entities controlled by him, to the Azim Premji Trustee Company.[36] In February 2013, he transferred a 12% stake in Wipro to the Azim Premji Foundation.[37][38] In July 2015, he gave away an additional 18% of his stake in Wipro to the foundation, taking his total contribution to 39%.[39][40]

In March 2019, Premji pledged an additional 34% of Wipro stock held by him to the foundation, increasing the total endowment from him to the foundation to US$21 billion,[41][42] which made him the top Indian philanthropist.[43]

In April 2020, the Azim Premji Foundation, Wipro, and Wipro Enterprises committed ₹1,125 crore (US$140 million) to COVID-19 relief efforts.[44] This was followed by an additional commitment of ₹1,000 crore in June 2021 to support the universal vaccination program.[45]

The Giving Pledge

In 2013, Premji became the first Indian to sign up for the Giving Pledge, a campaign led by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, to encourage the wealthiest people to make a commitment to give most of their wealth to philanthropic causes. He is the third non-American after Richard Branson and David Sainsbury to join this club.[46][47]

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See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Azim Premji. Encyclopædia Britannica(14 May 2010). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  2. ↑ Wipro's Azim Premji to hand over baton to son Rishad Premji. The Hindu(6 June 2019). Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  3. ↑ Azim Premji. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  4. ↑ The World's Billionaires. Forbes(3 March 2009). Retrieved 16 March 2009.
  5. ↑ Azim Premji: Latest News, Videos and Azim Premji Photos. The Times of India. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  6. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  7. ↑ Azim Premji. themuslim500.com(29 May 2018). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  8. ↑ 22 Indians among world's influential Muslims, Amin Jafri, Syed(12 October 2015). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  9. ↑ Premji happy to win Padma Vibhushan(26 January 2011).
  10. ↑ Azim Premji. Forbes. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  11. ↑ Azim Premji Donates $2.3 Billion After Signing Giving Pledge, Karmali, Naazneen. Forbes(23 February 2013). Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  12. ↑ Azim Premji tops EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020, Shiv Nadar & Mukesh Ambani follow. The Economic Times(10 November 2020). Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  13. ↑ Azim Premji retains 'India's most generous' tag, donated ₹27 crore per day. indiatvnews.com(29 October 2021). Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  14. ↑ Azim Premji, Chairman/CEO, Wipro. worldofceos.com. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  15. ↑ Billionaire Profile: Azim Premji, Menon, Mandovi. mensxp.com(23 June 2011). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  16. ↑ Azim H. Premji. Wipro. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  17. ↑ Azim Premji to retire as executive chairman of Wipro, son Rishad to take over. The Economic Times(7 June 2019).
  18. ↑ When Azim Premji's father said no, and no again. churumuri.wordpress.com(20 July 2009). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  19. ↑ Such a long journey: Azim Premji and Wipro. The Economic Times(7 June 2019). Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  20. ↑ Chakravarty, 1998:2
  21. ↑ Home Page – Sentinel Technologies, Inc. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  22. ↑ Azim Premji Profile – Biography of Azim Premji – Information on Azeem Premji Wipro Technologies. iloveindia.com. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  23. ↑ With $1 billion corpus, PremjiInvest plays VC, PE, stockmarket game. Mint(10 June 2008). Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  24. ↑ Tech Tycoon's Family Office Bets on AI to Prop $10 Billion Fund. Bloomberg(29 April 2024). Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  25. ↑ Wipro chief features in Business Week's "30 Greatest Entrepreneurs of all Time" list. International Business Times(4 July 2007). Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  26. ↑ India's best business minds converge at NITIEs Lakshya. Financial Express(21 October 2006). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  27. ↑ Padma Awards Directory (1954–2013). Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  28. ↑ Studying Abroad. roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu(8 January 2010). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  29. ↑ Mysore varsity doctorate for Premji, Bhyrappa, Nagathihalli Chandrashekar. The Hindu(16 April 2015). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  30. ↑ Padma Awards 2011: The winners. Rediff.com(26 January 2011). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  31. ↑ India's 50 most powerful individuals; Mukesh Ambani tops(14 April 2017). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  32. ↑ Meet Azim Premji, the wipro founder who donated 39% of his shares to a charitable trust. Business Insider India(24 July 2019). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  33. ↑ From Azim Premji to Carlos Slim: The World's Most Generous Billionaires Outside Of The U.S., Çam, Deniz. Forbes(26 March 2019). Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  34. ↑ Azim Premji Foundation. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  35. ↑ Education. Azim Premji Foundation. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  36. ↑ Premji completes transfer of 213 mn Wipro shares to trust. Business Standard. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  37. ↑ I have given 25% of my wealth to charity, Wipro chairman Azim Premji says. The Times of India(19 April 2013). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  38. ↑ I believe those of us who are privileged should contribute significantly to try and create a better world: Noble words and noble deeds of Azim Premji. India Today(23 February 2013). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  39. ↑ Azim Premji gives half of his stake in Wipro for charity. The Hindu(8 July 2015). Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  40. ↑ Wipro's Azim Premji gives 18% of his stake in company for charity. Hindustan Times(9 July 2015). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  41. ↑ Wipro Chairman Premji pledges 34 percent of company shares for philanthropy. Reuters(13 March 2019). Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  42. ↑ Asia's 2019 Heroes Of Philanthropy: Catalysts For Change, Chung, Grace. Forbes(2 December 2019). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  43. ↑ Why India's rich don't give their money away. BBC News(2 April 2019). Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  44. ↑ Azim Premji foundation, Wipro commit Rs 1125 crore to tackle COVID-19 outbreak. The Economic Times(1 April 2020). Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  45. ↑ Our Response to the COVID-19 Crisis. Azim Premji University. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  46. ↑ Azim Premji donates half of his wealth. IBN Live(20 February 2013). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  47. ↑ Premji to donate more to philanthropic causes(28 June 2016). Retrieved 11 August 2021.

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