Meet Harsh Mariwala: Billionaire founder of Marico Ltd

Marico has become one of the largest FMCG and skincare companies in India.

Harsh Mariwala ranks 30th on India’s richest person list and is the founder and chairman of Marico Ltd which is a consumer goods giant in India. He has a net worth of about Rs 24,000 crore according to the real-time net worth tracker of Forbes. 

Harsh Mariwala got his surname from his grandfather- Vallabhdas Vasanji. His grandfather used to trade in pepper which in Gujarati meant ‘mari’ and hence he got the name Mariwala. Harsh Mariwala graduated from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics and joined his father’s company called Bombay Oil Industries, which did business in spices, oils and chemicals. This was where the brands like Parachute and Saffola refined oil were established. He gained rich experience of 20 years in the company and eventually founded Marico in 1990. 

Harsh Mariwala expanded his father’s business and existing brands in international markets. He made a presence across 25 countries in Asia and Africa. Marico turned public in 1996 after which he made multifold growth in the business. Mariwala set up a production unit in Bangladesh and gradually commenced taking over various consumer brands.  

Mariwala diversified his empire into the skincare sector in 2003. He then founded Kaya Ltd dedicated to handle the skincare segment as a subsidiary of Marico Ltd. He acquired a haircare brand called Nihar from Hindustan Unilever and Set Wet, Livon, and Zatak from Reckitt Benckiser.  

In 2014, Mariwala abandoned his role as MD and continued to be the chairman. He has let the professionals handle the management of the company which seemed to be a sensible decision. Today, Marico is one of the largest FMCG and personal care companies in India. Notably, brands like Parachute oil and Saffola refined oil are famous across the world.