Ritesh Agarwal name suddenly became popular over the internet in 2012 because he became the second youngest self-made billionaire in the world. Many people want to know about him. If you want to know more about him and did not get all the details like Biography, Net Worth 2023, Age, Education, Family and more then you will get all the information here.
Ritesh Agarwal Biography
| Real name | Ritesh Agarwal |
| Age | 30 |
| Date of birth | 16 November 1993 |
| Nickname | N/A |
| Birthplace | Bissam Cuttack, Rayagada, Odisha, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Zodiac sign | Scorpio |
| School | Sacred Heart School, Rayagada, Odisha St. John’s Senior Secondary School, Kota, Rajasthan |
| College | Indian school of business and finance, Delhi (College Dropout) |
| Caste | Marwari |
| Religion | Hindu |
| Profession | Billionaire Entrepreneur and CEO and founder of OYO |
Physical Information
| Weight (Approx.) | 70 kg in kilograms 154 lbs in pounds |
| Height (Approx.) | 174 cm in centimeters 1.74 m in meters 5′ 9″ in feet and inches |
| Body measurements (Approx.) | Chest – 38 inches Waist – 30 inches Biceps – 11 inches |
| Shoe size | 7 (India) 8 (US) |
| Eye color | Black |
| Hair color | Black |
Properties and Net worth
| Car | Maruti Suzuki Brezza |
| Salary (Approx) | 5.6 Cr. (September 2022) |
| Net worth (Approx) | $1.9 billion (October 2023) |
Favorite things
| Favorite Cricketer | Rohit Sharma |
| Favorite Food | Tikka |
| Favorite Actor | Shahrukh Khan |
| Favorite Actress | Kangana Ranaut |
| Favorite Personality | Dr. Vivek Bindra |
| Favorite Male Singer | Sidhu Moose Wala |
| Favorite Female Singer | Tulsi Kumar |
| Favorite Youtuber | Ashish Chanchlani |
| Favorite Tiktoker | Adnan |
| Favorite Place | France |
| Hobbies | Cycling |
Early Life & Education
Ritesh Agarwal was born in a Marwari family in Rayagada, Orissa. As a child, he used to go to the Sacred Heart School in his hometown. Like most entrepreneurs, Ritesh Agarwal had a knack for computers, coding, and software from a very early age.
When teachers or elders used to ask him about what he wanted to become in life, he used to say an entrepreneur. Agarwal heard the word Entrepreneur from his elder sister, who used to be his inspiration in life. While other kids his age wanted to be doctors, engineers, and teachers, Agarwal aimed to be an entrepreneur.
His childhood was an adventure of different learning. In 2009, Agarwal wanted to enter a top IIT college, so he left for Kota. Upon realizing Kota is not the place for learning to code, Ritesh Agarwal gave up on this dream. During his free time, Ritesh was working on a book named ‘Indian Engineering Colleges: A Complete Encyclopedia of Top 100 Engineering Colleges. This was a success.
`Agarwal was also among the 240 students to be selected for the Asian Science Camp. he was also among 20 under twenty students who were awarded the Thiel Fellowship and received $100,000. All of these were nice. But he wanted to become an entrepreneur – one who solves a problem and makes a difference.
Ritesh Agarwal Wife
Geetansha Sood is now the wife of Indian billionaire and OYO Rooms founder Ritesh Agarwal. Sood is from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. She is the director of the company Formation Ventures Limited.
Geetansha Sood’s business was established in Kanpur. On August 22, 2020, Sood’s company was registered with Kanpur’s Registrar of Companies. She had invested Rs 1 lakh in the company’s shares. The company has been linked to two more directors.There is no other information available about Sood. Ritesh Agarwal has not revealed any information about her. Kuhook Sood is the name of one of the company’s directors. There is no information available on the internet about Geetansha Sood’s net worth.
Geetansha Sood, director with Farmation Ventures Private Limited, is registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), bearing DIN 08843236. She is an Indian staying in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Entrepreneurial Achievements
Agarwal wanted to pursue his dream, So he dropped out of college. As a child, Ritesh used to travel to the northern part of the country and travel around the coastal areas. While his family thought he was studying, he was traveling.
He would often work for different companies that would pay him for traveling. When Ritesh had to crash in somewhere at night, he used to email different hotel owners asking them to let him stay the night for free.
His excuse was, “I want to solve something in this sector someday.” Most of the owners would deny while some of them let him stay. During this time, Ritesh stayed in more than a hundred places and more than 200 properties in the country.
Although he was trying hard, the problem he sought did not appear, let alone the solution. But he was experiencing the poor qualities of hotels and bad hospitality across different parts of the nation. It was 2011, and he was 17; this is when he came up with the idea to start Oravel stays. Later, in 2013, Oravel Stays came to be known as OYO.
OYO
OYO, which stands for ‘On Your Own,’ is the third largest chain in the Hotels & Homes industry and resulted from Ritesh Agarwarl’s aspiration. He saw that the lodging industry could use lots of improvement. So, he ventured into this industry and made OYO.
An entrepreneurial vision is a long shot. If played correctly, it can be a big hit. OYO was a success, but it was not an easy one – and it sure did not happen overnight. The company had a rough time during the Covid outbreak.
The company started its journey in 2013. However, after 8 years, they have successfully expanded into 800 cities in the country and 80 countries worldwide. Currently, they have 17000 employees working under the company.
The OYO rooms are the largest network of budget hotel chains in India. Their operating locations include major regional metro hubs, leisure destinations, and tourism towns.
The hotels facilitate different services to the clients based on the packages they choose. Free wi-fi, breakfast, Flat screen TV, spotless white beds, drinking cups, toiletries, etc., come under their range of offerings.
OYO became a 100% leased and franchised hotel chain in 2018. In that year, Ritesh Agarwal’s company earned a revenue of $211. It was a record in comparison to the revenues of 2017, 2016, and 2015 ( $13m, $6m, and $4m). In 2019, the records of revenue went off the charts earning OYO $951 million in revenue.
Charity
Ritesh Agarwal has come out to help his country’s citizens during the covid crisis. The executive leaders at OYO decided to accept a 25% pay cut during the covid crisis. This helped them raise INR 2.5 Cr for PM care during the covid crisis.
Controversies
- Ritesh Agarwal, the creator of Oyo, is charged with early-stage fraud against Manish Sinha, who co-founded the company with him.
- The founder of Oyo, Ritesh Agarwal, made deals with US hotel owners through his business Oyo, whereby the owners’ properties would be rebranded under the Oyo name in exchange for money and an assurance of revenue.
- Agarwal did not, however, mention that Oyo is not allowed to run a franchise in the state of California, for which Oyo was fined $200,000 in March 2019 by California regulators. Oyo was issued a cease-and-desist order by Washington officials after it was discovered that the company had made offers to a number of hotel owners and managers without being legally registered.
- In September 2020, a businessman from Chandigarh filed a criminal conspiracy and fraud charge under IPC 420 (cheating) 120 B against Ritesh Agarwal, the founder of Oyo, in Dera Bassi.
- Oyo caused 10,000 Indian hotel owners to respond badly. The hotels assert when they sign up for Oyo that Oyo withholds 50% or more of their revenue in the form of undisclosed fees.
- In October 2019, hotel owners in Mysore, Bangalore, and other Karnataka municipalities have filed police charges alleging Oyo of deception. But in one instance, the latter was successful in his request for a Bangalore stay order.
Also Read : Mukesh Ambani (Indian Businessman) Biography
Success Story of Ritesh Agarwal
A young man who is both a billionaire and the founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, the fastest-growing brand hotel network both online and offline. Ritesh Agarwal, a tall and slim young man, is known for having achieved considerable success in life at a very young age.
How did Oyo rooms start?
Ritesh decided to move to Delhi after completing his schooling. He launched his own business there in 2011. Additionally, he was getting ready for the SAT to continue his education in the US, but it never happened. He had thought of providing for the very basic requirements of budget travelers.
Ritesh began utilizing this chance in 2012 to launch his first business, “Oravel Stays,” a collection of bed and breakfasts. For those looking for short- or medium-term rentals, it was intended to be the location of bed & breakfast establishments offering serviced flats or private rooms.
Within a short period of time, he was able to get funding from Venture Nursery in the amount of Rs. 30 lakhs, which brought together a group of story-backed investors to support companies. With money in his pocket, he was able to pitch his innovative concepts to the Thiel Fellowship, a global competition for college students under the age of 20. He received financial profit.
OYO Rooms details
Oyo is slang for by yourself. Ritesh was able to empathize with and realize the struggle of those who traveled to various locations but were forced to stay in terrible accommodations due to a lack of money. To gather opinions and firsthand accounts from the social network on all the places they had visited, he developed an online platform. He renamed Oravel Oyo rooms in 2013.
The aim to build India’s largest scene of standardized, effective rooms where varied services and demands are met at fairer costs than ever before is what led to the company crossing gross billing of more than 1 crore every month.
Let’s see the Quick info of Ritesh Agarwal in the table down below.
Awards
- Ritesh Agarwal was featured in the Bloomberg 50 list as ‘The Amazingly Ambitious Hotelier.’ (2019)
- The 50 Most Powerful People in India by India Today and the Tycoons of Tomorrow’ by Forbes India (2019)
- Market Entrant of the Year 2019 (UK-India Awards)
- Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019
- Best Startup – SATTE Awards 2019
- OYO topped the maiden list of LinkedIn’s Top Startups in India (2018)
- LinkedIn has recognized OYO as one of the top employee attractors in India four years in a row (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
- OYO among Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in India (2018)
- Startup of the Year at The Economic Times Startup Awards (2018)
- TiE’s QGlue Design-led Entrepreneurship Awards (2018)
- New Age Entrepreneur Award by Asian Centre for Corporate Governance & Sustainability (2016)
- OneDirect Quest CX Award for Best Use of Social Media (2016)
- No. 2 in BT Coolest Start-ups Survey (2016)
- Startup of the Year – Express IT Award (2015)
- TiE-Lumis Entrepreneurial Excellence Award (2014)
- ’20 Under 20’ Thiel Fellowship (2013)
- Top 50 Entrepreneurs (2013) TATA First Dot Awards
- Finalist of the Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards
- Global Student Entrepreneur Awards
- 8 Hottest Teenage Start-Up Founders (2013), Business Insider
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