Do you know who is the richest person from Lucknow? No it is no
Many of you might have seen this philanthropist on TV or newspapers for his contribution to the environment, but did you also know that Manoj Bhargava hails from Lucknow, and is the richest person from the city?
Incase you are wondering if Subrata Roy is the richest person in Lucknow, then we would like to clarify that he hails from a town in Bihar, while Manoj Bhargava was born here.
That’s true! This famous entrepreneur and philanthropist who is famous in India for making the free electric cycles, was born in Lucknow in 1953. Free Electric, is the stationary cycle, that can light up 24 bulbs, charge a cell phone and a tablet and run an electric fan, when peddled for an hour.
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Manoj Bhargava’s documentary film, Billions in Change released in 2015 states his net worth to be more than $4 billion. He was also featured in the Forbes 2014 ‘list of billionaires’.
Bhargava was born in Lucknow, India in 1953 and in 1967 he moved with his family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After high school graduation, Bhargava attended Princeton University for one year in 1972.
In an interview with Aaj Tak, he shared his dream of providing free electricity to the passes. Watch here-
After graduating, Bhargava returned to India and stayed here for the next 12 years. He worked in several offices and construction jobs, during this period and kept traveling to the US from time to time.
After many other changes in his job, he finally set up a new company, Innovations Ventures LLC, in 2003. The company has grown tremendously under his leadership, and they have been working on many innovative projects, one of which aims at distributing stationary cycles that produce electricity, to the Indian Villages.
In 2005, Bhargava pledged to donate 99% of his wealth to charity. He has established the Hans Foundation and Rural India Supporting Trust. His prime focus is on energy, health and water.
Feature image credits- xVS Creations
