What is Ajit Jain's Net Worth?
Ajit Jain is an Indian-American business executive who has a net worth of $2 billion. Ajit Jain serves as Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations at the holding company Berkshire Hathaway, where he has worked since 1986. Earlier in his career, he held positions at IBM and McKinsey & Co. Jain is also involved in philanthropy through his nonprofit the Jain Foundation, which aims to cure limb-girdle muscular dystrophy.
Early Life and Education
Ajit Jain was born on July 23, 1951 in Sundargarh, Odisha, India. He was educated at Stewart School, Cuttack and IIT Kharagpur, earning his Bachelor of Technology degree in mechanical engineering from the latter. Jain went on to obtain a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University in the United States.
Business Career
In 1973, Jain began his business career at the technology company IBM, working as a salesman for its data processing operations in India. He lost his job in 1976 when IBM discontinued its operations in India. After moving to the United States in 1978, Jain worked at the strategy and management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. He left the firm in 1986 to work for Warren Buffett on insurance operations at the holding company Berkshire Hathaway. Jain went on to contribute to the company's huge success over the ensuing years and decades. Specializing in mega-catastrophe coverage, he insured the Sears Tower in Chicago following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and underwrote the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
In 2014, an annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders suggested that both Jain and his colleague Greg Abel could potentially succeed Warren Buffett as the company's CEO. Instead, however, Jain was named Berkshire Hathaway's Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations in early 2018, and was also appointed to the company's board of directors. A few years later, Abel was chosen as Buffett's successor. In the summer of 2024, Jain sold $139 million of his Berkshire Hathaway shares, leaving him with $112 million.
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Philanthropy
In 2005, Jain created the Seattle, Washington-based nonprofit the Jain Foundation. The mission of the organization is to cure limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, particularly when caused by dysferlin protein deficiency. Jain was inspired to launch the nonprofit due to his son, who has this condition.
Personal Life
Jain married his wife, Tinku, in 1981.
