The baggage of an heir: Sanjiv Goenka says scrutiny, comparisons haunt young entrepreneurs

Being the heir-apparent is a double-edged sword. The world tends to focus on the advantages and forgets the struggles.

In a recent interview, Kolkata-based businessman Sanjiv Goenka, who heads the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, was asked for his view on the subject.

More specifically, Goenka was asked for his take on “the limelight that falls on inheritors of businesses”. To which he responded, “In India, I feel, second generation entrepreneurs or inheritors of businesses face unfair comparisons. Fresh young minds with potential are immediately compared to the greatness of those before them, which was probably achieved over a long period of time. This is one among the other negatives that come along with being an inheritor. Of course, there are many positives as well.”


As a second-generation entrepreneur, Goenka was well placed to comment.

His father RP Goenka originally started the business. After featuring in a 2019 rich list, Goenka had spoken in the interview about his motivations for entering a business.

“The way I see it, my business can be defined into two categories: One is what I inherited and the other is what I have done with the inheritance,” he said in the interview.

“What we inherited was a legacy. What we did with it, was made it efficient. It has been a journey of reinvention towards excellence.”