PERSONAL INFORMATION
Profession: Entrepreneur
Famous For: Being the founder of the OYO Rooms
Date of Birth: 16 November 1993 (Tuesday)
Age (as of 2023): 30 Years
Birthplace: Bissam Cuttack, Rayagada, Orissa (now Odisha), India
Zodiac sign: Scorpio
Nationality: Indian
Hometown: Cuttack, Odisha, India
Religion: Hinduism
Food Habit: Vegetarian
Marriage Date: 7 March 2023
Age: 30 Years
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EDUCATION
School: • Sacred Heart school, Rayagada, Odisha • St. Johns Senior Secondary School
College/University: Indian School of Business and Finance, New Delhi
Educational Qualification: College dropout
PHYSICAL STATISTICS
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″ (175 cm)
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Hair Colour: Black
FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS
Marital Status: Married
Affairs/Girlfriends: Geetansha Sood (businesswoman)
Wife/Spouse: Geetansha Sood (businesswoman)
Children: Son – Aryan Agarwal (born on 7 December 2023)
Parents: Father – Ramesh Agarwal (died in 2023; businessman)
Siblings: Brother – Aashish Agarwal (elder; businessman)
Wife: Geetansha Sood
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Awards: • First Resident Asian to win ’20 Under 20′ Thiel Fellowship (2013) • Top 50 Entrepreneurs by TATA First Dot Award (2013) • TiE – Lumis Entrepreneurial Excellence Award (2014) • Business World Young Entrepreneur Award • Business World Young Entrepreneur Award (2015) • Digital Champion of the Year at Brand Excellence Award (2015) • Star Youth Achiever Award at 8th Youth Marketing & Social Media Forum (2016) • NDTV Dream Chaser of the Year Award (2016) • Asian Centre’s New Age Entrepreneur Award (2017) • Gaurav Samman Award by The Government of Haryana (2017) • GQ India – 50 Most Influential Young Leaders (2016,2017) • Real Innovation Award by London Business School – If you don’t succeed at first category (2017) • Startup of The Year Award from The Economic Times (2018) • StartAP Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2018) • Forbes India Tycoons of Tomorrow Award (2018) • Dataquest IT Person of the Year Award (2018) • CNBC’s Young Turk of the Year Award (2019) • The Open Republic Achievers Award – Business New Age category (2019) • BTVi National Award for Marketing Excellence: Young Achiever of the year (2019) • BTVi National Award for Marketing Excellence – CEO of the year category (2019) • ASEAN-India Excellence and Achievement Award (2019) • The Millennial Maverick Award (2020) • Jay Chiat Award – Grand Prix (2022)
MONEY FACTOR
Car Collection: • Mercedes-Benz S-Class S 350d (worth Rs. 1.4 crores) • Audi A4 (worth Rs. 45 lakhs) • Land Rover Range Rover Sport (worth Rs. 1 crore) • Mercedes-Benz E-Class E 200 (worth Rs. 64 lakhs) • Toyota Fortuner (worth Rs. 36 lakhs) • BMW X5 (worth Rs. 1.1 crore) • Maruti Suzuki Brezza (worth Rs. 15 lakh)
Salary/Income (approx.): Salary – Rs. 10 Crore Income – Rs. 100 Crores per annum
Net Worth (approx.): Rs. 16,000 crores ($2.1 billion)
OTHER INFORMATION
Hobbies: Cycling, Travelling, Reading books, Watching documentaries
Food: Idli, Benne Dosa, Paratha
Dessert: Chhena Poda, Rasgulla, Cake, Pastry
Cuisine: South Indian, Odia
Film: Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), 3 Idiots (2009)
Sport: Cricket
Books: Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Blake Masters and Peter Thiel (2014), The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz (2014), No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Erin Meyer and Reed Hastings (2020)
Documentary: The Men Who Built America (2012)
Instagram: riteshagar
Twitter: @riteshagar
YouTube: Ritesh Agarwal
LinkedIn: Ritesh Agarwal
INTERESTING BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Ritesh Agarwal was born into a business-class Marwari family in Cuttack, Odisha, where the seeds of entrepreneurship were sown early in his life. His family later moved to Titilagarh, where they operated a small grocery store. From a tender age, Ritesh exhibited a keen interest in technology; he began learning coding at just eight years old and developed a voracious reading habit. His childhood was marked by his early entrepreneurial ventures, such as selling SIM cards at the age of thirteen, which laid the groundwork for his future endeavors. Despite receiving only Rs. 300 in pocket money, he harbored dreams that transcended the confines of his modest upbringing.
After completing his schooling, Ritesh made the ambitious move to Kota, Rajasthan, to prepare for the entrance exam of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). He attended Bansal Classes, a renowned coaching institution, but ultimately fell short of his goal. Though he enrolled in the University of London’s International Programme through the Indian School of Business and Finance, Ritesh quickly realized that the conventional academic path did not ignite his passion. Instead, he gravitated towards entrepreneurship, participating in various events that fueled his ambitions. His tenacity caught the attention of the Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, which selected him for the Asian Science Camp at the age of 16—a program aimed at fostering scientific dialogue among pre-college students from across Asia. By the time he turned 17, Ritesh had made a pivotal decision to drop out of college to chase his entrepreneurial dreams.
In 2011, he published a book titled *Indian Engineering Colleges: A Complete Encyclopedia of Top 100 Engineering Colleges*, which became a bestseller in India. This early success was soon followed by the establishment of Worth Growth Partners, marking his entry into the entrepreneurial world. Drawing inspiration from the San Francisco-based Airbnb, he launched Oravel Travels, a platform designed to help hotel businesses manage reservations and payments. However, the venture struggled to gain traction in the competitive Indian market, leading to substantial losses. Undeterred, Ritesh adapted the business model and sought funding, which he successfully secured in 2012 through an angel-backed start-up accelerator, VentureNursery. By January 2013, he transformed Oravel Travels into OYO Rooms, which quickly evolved into a prominent Indian hotel brand known for its standardized offerings.
Ritesh’s entrepreneurial journey was not without challenges. A disappointing hotel experience sparked the idea behind OYO, as he realized the need for improved cleanliness and service quality in the hospitality sector. Although the initial phases of OYO encountered difficulties, including financial strain that left him with minimal resources, Ritesh persevered. His efforts paid off when OYO rapidly gained momentum, culminating in a funding round of $1 billion in September 2018. Under his leadership, OYO acquired several companies to expand its footprint, including the notable purchase of Chennai-based Novascotia Boutique Homes and Europe’s largest vacation rental company, @Leisure Group, in 2019. By the end of that year, OYO had become the third-largest global brand in the hospitality sector, boasting an extensive international presence.
Ritesh Agarwal’s dynamic career continued to flourish in the following years. In 2020, he achieved remarkable financial success, with his net worth exceeding $1.1 billion, making him one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the world. Despite this achievement, he expressed regret for not completing his graduation. In 2021, he contributed to the establishment of the Confederation of Hospitality, Technology and Tourism Industry (CHATT), a governing body for the tourism sector. Ritesh’s personal life saw significant milestones as well; after a decade-long relationship, he married Geetansha Sood in 2023, inviting dignitaries such as President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to their wedding. Tragically, just days later, he faced the loss of his father, highlighting the complexities of life amidst his burgeoning career. As of 2024, OYO Rooms stands as the largest hospitality management chain globally, valued at approximately $12 billion, with Ritesh Agarwal at the helm, leading a multilingual team across various countries while maintaining his personal ethos as a non-drinker and devoted dog lover.
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Note: All biographical information compiled from publicly available sources.