Big bulls bleed! Radhakishan Damani, Jhunjhunwala family & other top investors lose Rs 81,000 cr in market rout

Mumbai: The sharp selloff in Indian equities in the past five months hasn't spared many of the big hitters. Some of the country's better-known individual investors have borne the brunt of the steep declines in share prices-mainly of smaller companies-with values of their equity portfolios eroding by as much as 25% since January 1 and about 30% since October 1. The value of top 10 individual investors is down by a total of nearly ₹81,000 crore since October 1 though some have managed to minimise the damage.

DMart founder Radhakishan Damani has seen value of his holdings shrink by ₹64,000 crore, or 28%, since October 1, falling from ₹2.31 lakh crore to ₹1.67 lakh crore, according to primeinfobase.com data.

Shares of Avenue Supermarts, his flagship company, have dropped 27%, while his second-largest investment, Trent, has plunged 32% during this period. Since October 1, the Nifty has fallen 11%, while the Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Smallcap indices have declined 17% and 22%, respectively, amid foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloading Indian equities worth over Rs 2.5 lakh crore. Beneath the surface, the damage is deeper with several smallcap and penny stocks plunging between 30% and 80%. The late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s family portfolio has declined 19% since October 1, excluding the recently listed Inventurus Knowledge Solutions, in which the family holds a 49.54% stake valued at Rs 14,400 crore.

Including this holding, the family’s total portfolio value stood at around Rs 59,709 crore. Akash Bhanshali’s portfolio has eroded by 16% since October, with Gujarat Fluorochemicals losing 13%, while his second-largest investment, One 97 Communications (Paytm’s parent), has gained 5% during this period.

Former investment banker-turned entrepreneur Hemendra Kothari has seen a 29% decline in his wealth from listed firms. His two top holdings—Alkyl Amines Chemicals and Sonata Software—have plummeted 28% and 33%, respectively, since October 1. Some investors such as Mukul Agrawal, Ashish Kacholia and Yusuffali Kader have weathered the storm and managed to limit their losses to single digits. Mukul Agrawal of Param Capital saw a 6% decline in his portfolio, aided by a 40% surge in BSE shares since October 1. His other two top holdings, Neuland Laboratories and Radico Khaitan, have remained flat during this period.