Byju Raveendran has been battling a crisis on the professional front with the implosion of his eponymous company Byju’s, but he’s facing some setbacks in his personal life as well.
Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran’s net worth has been estimated to be zero by Forbes. Raveendran was removed from Forbes billionaires list for 2024, and his net worth was stated as 0. Raveendran had a peak net worth $2.1 billion (Rs. 17,000 crore) in the Forbes Billionares list last year.
The drop in Byju Raveendran’s net worth comes amidst a slashing in the valuation of his company, Byju’s. Byju’s, which was once India’s most valuable startup with a valuation of $22 billion, but had recently applied for a rights issue at a valuation of just $225 million, which implied its value had fallen more than 99 percent from its peak.
The crisis has hit Byju Raveendran particularly hard, given how he had pledged his homes worth Rs. 100 crore to pay staff salaries in December last year. When Byju’s had been unable to pay November salaries to employees, Raveendran had pledged two houses owned by his family, and an under-construction villa in Bengaluru to raise money to make the payments. The villa was being built in Epsilon, a plush gated community that’s home to several other prominent entrepreneurs.
But since pledging his homes, his company has continued to lurch from one crisis to another. The company has seen its shareholders pass a resolution that seeks to oust Raveendran’s family, including his wife and his brother, from the company. Byju’s has also had to fire even more employees, and give up several office spaces. Many employees also faced the ignominy of being evicted from their offices because Byju’s couldn’t pay the bills. And with his own homes pledged with lenders, and his personal net worth down to zero, Byju Raveendran is truly staring at the brink.