On this day, July 24 in the year 1945, the man who built Wipro Ltd into a world-class technology company was born in Mumbai, India. His name is Azim Premji, one of the most famous Indian entrepreneurs. According to forbes.com, his net worth is $17.7 billion as of July, 2017.

Azim was the son of Wipro’s founder, Mohamed Azim Hashim Premji. Originally, Western India Products Limited was a producer of vegetable oils and later expanded into consumer products like soap. In 1966, the founder passed away and Azim hastily returned home to take over the family business. He was then studying at Stanford University taking up electrical engineering. He finished the degree later.

Under Azim’s management, Wipro grew into a diversified company. Its product portfolio included toiletries, lighting, furniture, and hydraulic cylinders. However, it was its expansion into software that really made Wipro its current status as one of India’s most visible IT companies. In 2008, it formed a clean energy business subsidiary. At present, Wipro is a profitable multinational IT consulting company with revenues of more than $8 billion employing over 170,000 around the world.

In 2001, Azim set up a family foundation as a conduit for his philanthropic activities like donating funds for education. He also signed up for The Giving Pledge which was initiated by fellow billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to encourage people to donate funds for charitable causes.

Azim has two children with his wife Yasmeen.

References:
http://www.wipro.com/about-Wipro/
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/i-have-worked-very-hard-and-neglected-my-family-azim-premji/articleshow/57198112.cms
http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/azim-premji.html