5 lessons from life and times of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala – The legendary Bull

Anyone who is even distantly involved with stock markets knows Shri Rakesh Radheshyam Jhunjhunwala (RJ) as “The Big Bull”

What a nomer to have and outlier of a recognition in a nation of 1.6 billion people where one of the most remarkable catalysts of vision and growth amidst all adversities is the bullishness of each and everyone among us. Floods, Droughts, Terrorism, Catastrophes – nothing perturbs the spirit of Indian’ness’ because everyone here is a Bull, everyone has a shameless and unapologetic audacity of hope and where the spirit and belief of an Indian investor created a FOMO amongst the ilk of all FII/FPIs and didn’t allow the Indian markets to crash the way others did across the globe.

If not all – a large part of this credit must be reserved forever for ‘The Big Bull’.

I had the good fortune to spend an entire day with RJ some 12 years ago when he invested in Delta Corp and I was heading its Operations in Goa. (Enough and more has been and will continue to be written about his investing skills so I will avoid the slack and just stick to the basics). His sense of humor stood out for me. He was humble, polite, airless and carefree.

Markets are engines of creating enormous wealth but are meant only for the brave. If you cannot tolerate an upto 50% drawdown you should get out and stick to Bank FDs etc. Yet inspite of knowing this theory, we would all look for words of reassurance from RJ whenever markets tanked in the last 2 decades. His belief and conviction was indomitable and while he would himself be reeling under losses (during drawdowns – as markets are impartial and truly secular), yet his presence on TV would always have a calming effect and millions of investors would always look upto RJ during the tempests of the market. It almost always seemed that our fraternity was safe with him as a leader and in control of the ship.

My learnings from RJ’s life and times have been immense.

1. Audacity of imagination and dreams 

RJ has been an outlier in his imagination and calculation. Even if it was mathematically impossible to achieve a 5Tr $ GDP by 2025 or 125000 on Nifty by 2030 (28% CAGR), his optimism has been so damn infectious that one would start believing him and having faith in the markets. One would always imagine that India will suddenly be blessed with miracles of incessant growth (with all the bells and whistles that come along) and would perhaps be much larger than the largest economy on the planet in no time. If there is anyone who truly believed and professed that India is shining and will continue to do so - It was RJ and he is right.

Positivity and indomitable belief in a brighter future is the single most potent catalyst of progression and evolution. Hopeful leaders, citizens and societies are happy, self reliant, progressive and above all evolutionary. Targets of growth and progress should be dramatically out of the whack. Cloud nine seems terribly near when one is only aiming for the stars. RJ always believed that markets and India would always go for the fences in every single shot.

 

2. Accept Losses

RJs loss in AtoZ was approx. 150 Cr in a single investment. And yet I remember seeing a video where he spoke kindly of the promoters, accepted his mistake/wrong judgement and moved on. Even while nursing a large loss he was hopeful, well diversified and positive. He wished well for the promoters. That requires a golden heart.

Everything that happenes in your life is because of your own karma and judgements. Never ever blame anyone for any adverse consequences. Accept fate/losses and move on. More time is lost in analysis of history rather than action for the future. Let go of negativity and embrace positivity. Rear view mirror of decisions are for the regressive. Keep moving against the currents, there’s never a failure  – only feedback.

 

3. Harvest the Crops

RJ would always harvest his crops in time and was quick in removing weeds from the garden of his investments. He was always quick in accepting mistakes and taking large losses. He has committed a large part of his wealth to philanthropy and also led a good life. I hear that he built one of the most palatial houses recently for his family. May God bless his family with all the amazing traits he had.

Every crop must be harvested and every fruit of labor and effort must be enjoyed. Crops that remain unharvested tend to rot away and are rendered useless. Enjoy your wealth, spend it for gratification and seek the power and courage to give away for the greater good of humanity to find the true purpose of life and probably leave a legacy. There is no fun in being the richest man in grave.

 

4. Friends / Hanumans

Very few people have heard of Mr. Utpal Sheth the man behind RJ s success and investment decisions. Sharp, Astute, Soft Spoken and Loyal. Mr. Sheth has spent a large part of his professional life at RARE Enterprises, and has been the real tailwind behind RARE. While RJ has been the real Big Bull of all times Utpal Ji has been the force, energy and strategist behind all these iconic decisions.

Stick to Friends and colleagues who assist you in winning all the battles and wars of professional and personal life. Lord Rama without Lord Hanuman couldn’t have achieved much. But allow your Hanumans to become Lords in their own right. If you find your Lord Hanuman you are the real winner.

On that note I would like to express my most profound gratitude to my friends, Punith, Nezvilla and Chef Tiger who have stood by me like a rock in all the ups and downs and sacrificed a lot more for me than me for them and who would take a proverbial bullet for me and so would I.

A leader without an army of true and genuine Friends / Hanumans is a like a Golden Chariot without wheels. Where would you go on the Pushpak without a pilot.

Friends for a season or friends for a reason are just waste of time.

 

5. 7 pounds at birth to 7 pounds at death

Every child is born roughly 7 pounds and the weight of the final urn full of mortal remains at the end is roughly 7 pounds as well.

A new born baby is born after fighting all the adversities of ‘survival of the fittest’ principle of evolution. Every child is born equal and similar. What we make of our life is entirely in our hand. We are a sum of choices that we make during the course of our lives. RJ loved to eat and drink and he probably went overboard to a point of no return. Obesity leads to diabetes (mostly) which leads to all the malfunctions in ones body. For a man who could buy the best beach or the best aircraft, struggled, in his own confession, to really walk on the beach or travel the world in his own aircraft.

Obesity is the root cause of all evils. Our genetic makeup is still about 40,000 Yrs old (evolution takes time) where we had to hunt and fend for ourselves. Last 200 Yrs of development (or destruction) has made us dormant, lazy and susceptible. Economic progression has laid the foundation of eventual destruction of this planet. We have stopped giving rest to our pancreas because we have started believing in the concept of 5 meals a day. We just never stop eating. The concept of intermittent fasting is nothing more than eating between sunrise and sunset and giving the rest to ones metabolism for 14-16 hrs a day. That’s what our body needs. Not the American peddled concept of heavy breakfast of cereals because Mr. Kellogg wanted to sell his (high fructose) corn flakes.

Human body is the best and most efficient bank. If calories consumed are more than calories expended, it puts on weight. If calories expended are more than the calories consumed, it loses weight. Rest are all excuses that we find to justify our indulgences and lifestyles. No matter what – don’t put on weight.

We all vie for freedom and yet we spend our lives enslaved in the bondages of jobs, responsibilities, aspirations. On the eve of the anniversary of India's 75th year of freedom, RJ tricked us all and unshackled himself from all bondages and became free and has left his admirers and well-wishers teary eyed  and proud that that there was one helluva visionary who instilled hope and positivity in an entire generation.

 

RIP Big Bull – Kickass in heaven and keep an eye on us.

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With inputs from Abhishek Murarka