This industrialist was an LIC agent earlier, is a billionaire now; who is he?

This year's Hurun India Rich List has an inspiring name that is a remarkable rags to riches story. Meet Lachman Das Mittal, an LIC agent who worked his way up to become an entrepreneur and is a billionaire now.

The 89-year-old businessman is the owner and chairman of Sonalika Group, which has grown to become the third-largest tractor manufacturer in India.

Incorporated in 1969 for manufacturing farm implements, Mittal ventured into tractor manufacturing in 1996 and established Sonalika Tractors.

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The largest manufacturing plant of Sonalika is situated in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, while the Group has five plants operating in five different countries. The company also exports tractors to over 120 nations.

With a wealth of Rs 7,700 crore, Mittal ranked 164th on the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020. He is a gold medallist from Punjab University, with dual postgraduate degrees in English and Urdu.

The list names the richest individuals in the country with a wealth of Rs 1,000 crore or more as on August 31, 2020.

The 2020 edition of the Hurun list has 828 Indians, comprising 40 women, up from 94 last year, whereas the average wealth in the list is Rs 7,300 crore, and the average age is 63.

The top spot on the list was retained by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani for the ninth successive year with Rs 6.58 lakh crore of personal wealth. Besides, he is the only Indian to feature among the top 5 on the global rich list.

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London-based Hinduja brothers (SP Hinduja, along with his three brothers) with a joint wealth of Rs 1,43,700 crore ranked second on the list, followed by HCL-Founder Shiv Nadar in third place with a wealth of Rs 1,41,700 crore.

Gautam Adani & family stood at fourth spot with a net worth of Rs 1,40,200, while Wipro founder Azim Premji ranked fifth with a wealth of Rs 1,14,400 crore. Serum Institute of India (SII) founder Cyrus Poonawalla ranked sixth with a net worth of Rs 94,300 crore that rose 6 per cent in the last 12 months.