Weekly corporate world updates, summed up: Biz owners who made headlines

The corporate world has seen a lot of activity this week. Let’s get to know these five prominent business executives.

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The corporate world has seen a lot of activity this week. Let’s get to know these five prominent business executives.

Indian Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman

FM Nirmala Sitharaman during the Post Budget Press Conference at National Media Centre, in New Delhi. (Photo by Raj K Raj/ Hindustan Times)(Hindustan Times)
FM Nirmala Sitharaman spotted after the Budget Press Conference held at National Media Centre, New Delhi. (Hindustan Times)

On February 1, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her sixth straight budget, matching the record held by previous Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

She surpassed the accomplishments of her predecessors, including Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, with the 2024 interim budget. Between 1959 and 1964, Desai issued one interim budget and five yearly budgets.

Sitharaman’s vote-on-account interim budget for 2024–25 permits the government to spend money until the next general elections, when a new government will take power.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and chairman of One97 Communications Ltd., operator of Paytm.(Bloomberg)
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, chairman, One97 Communications Ltd., (Paytm).

Hailing from a modest background, Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the genius behind Paytm, the fintech behemoth that transformed digital payments in India. It allowed consumers to use their smartphones for bill payment, shopping, and other purposes.

Even though Sharma is the face of India’s fintech industry, he is now in unknown territory due to recent difficulties. Paytm Payments Bank is under an existential threat as a result of the Reserve Bank of India’s mandate forcing it to cease most of its operations. With a 51% share in the bank, Sharma has the difficult job of leading Paytm through these challenging times.

Byju Raveendran

Byju Raveendran, founder of Byju's, the Bangalore-based educational technology start-up.(AFP)
Byju Raveendran, founder, Byju’s.

The millionaire CEO of Byju’s, Byju Raveendran, is facing difficulties as shareholders, including Prosus, are requesting a meeting to discuss financial mismanagement and noncompliance.

Byju’s, a significant player in the edtech sector that provides both online and offline education courses, is estimated to be worth $22 billion in 2022.

Byju’s recorded an operational loss of ₹6,679 crore in FY22 despite fast revenue growth, primarily as a result of losses from subsidiaries White Hat Jr. and Osmo.

Jeff Bezos

 

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.(AP)
Jeff Bezos, founder, Amazon

To profit from Amazon’s stock rise, the company’s founder, Jeff Bezos, intends to sell up to 50 million shares over the course of the upcoming year.

Following Amazon’s announcement of strong increase in online sales, Bezos made $12.1 billion in profit, closing the gap with Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person.

Bezos’s wealth increased as a result of an over 8% gain in Amazon’s shares to $172.

Bernard Arnault

Bernard Arnault, billionaire and chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, during an earnings news conference at the company's headquarters in Paris, France, on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. (Bloomberg)
Bernard Arnault, chairman, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. 

Forbes reports that LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault has eclipsed Elon Musk to take the title of richest person in the world.

Arnault and his family have a higher net worth than Musk ($198.1 billion).

Arnault’s net worth increased significantly recently, reaching $23.6 billion on January 26, which was ascribed to LVMH’s impressive quarterly performance.

The company’s stocks surged as a result of Louis Vuitton reporting a 10% increase in quarterly revenue.

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