Nikhil Kamath (born 5 September 1986)[1] is an Indian entrepreneur and investor.[2] He is the co-founder of Zerodha, a retail stockbroker, and True Beacon, an asset management company.[3][4][5] As of March 2025, Kamath is worth $2.6 billion, according to Forbes.[6] He, along with his brother Nithin, is also part of Forbes' list of India’s 100 Richest for 2024.[7]
Kamath was born on September 5, 1986, in Shimoga, Karnataka, India. Kamath was brought up in small town of Udupi called Udyavara. Kamath's father, Raghuram Kamath, was an executive at Canara Bank, while his mother, Revathi Kamath, was a skilled veena player.[8] Kamath dropped out of school after 10th grade and he has no formal degree.[3][9][10][11]
Career
Kamath started his career with a job at a call centre while also engaging in equity trading on the side.[12][13][14] In 2006, Kamath became a sub-broker and started his brokerage firm with his brother Nithin Kamath titled Kamath & Associates to manage high-net-worth individual portfolios in the public markets.[3]
In 2010, Kamath co-founded Zerodha along with his brother Nithin Kamath.[15][16] Zerodha provides brokerage services for dealing in stocks, currencies, and commodities.[17][18] Kamath introduced a discount brokerage model with Zerodha which reduces the commission charged for transactions, enabling the masses to invest.[19][20]
Kamath also co-founded True Beacon in 2020, an asset management company that helps ultra-high-net individuals invest in Indian markets via privately pooled investment vehicles.[21][5][22][23]
In 2021, Kamath co-founded Gruhas, a real estate investment and prop tech company, along with Abhijeet Pai. Gruhas invests in incubators, startups, and special situations through its proptech-focused fund.[24][25]
In June 2023, he committed to donating 50% of his wealth to charitable causes like climate change, education, and health care by signing The Giving Pledge.[28]
Nikhil Kamath, along with Ankit Nagori and Prashanth Prakash, owns the Bengaluru franchise for Season 2 of the Global E-Cricket Premier League (GEPL).[29]
Chess.com charity match
In June 2021, Kamath participated in an online charity chess match against five-time world chess champion, Viswanathan Anand to raise funds for those suffering due to the coronavirus pandemic.[30][31][32] During the event, Kamath cheated against Anand by using the assistance of chess analysts and engines. Kamath later apologized, calling his behavior 'quite silly'.[33][34][35] Following the match, Chess.com, the virtual platform that was used to play the charity game, decided to ban his account.[36] However, his account was restored within 24 hours with the statement - "Chess.com has no reason to uphold anything given its rules and guidelines toward unrated games and exhibition events".[37]
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