Indian-American Niraj Shah falls off Forbes Billionaire 2023 list; all about him

With Russia-Ukraine war refusing to abate, inflation surging, central banks not pausing on interest rates and crypto bubble bursting, billionaires had it tough in 2022. Nearly half the planet’s 2,640 billionaires are poorer than they were in 2022. What more, 254 people dropped off the Forbes Billionaire 2023 list completely, including Wayfair's Niraj Shah, the Indian-American businessman has slipped out of the list. He is currently worth $600 million, which used to be $1.6 billion not so long ago. The falling off from the list has been attributed to slowing demand for sofas, beds and rugs from online home goods retailer Wayfair. In January, Shah (CEO and co-chairman) and Steve Conine (co-chairman) announced around 1,700 layoffs as part of a cost-savings plan.

Wayfair was launched in 2002 by co-founder, co-chairman, and CEO Niraj Shah with co-founder Steve Conine after his stint as co-founder/CEO of Simplify Mobile, an enterprise software company, which was sold in 2001. Headquartered in Boston, with operations throughout North America and Europe, the online retail giant quickly grew over the last two decades

Niraj Shah, a graduate of Cornell University and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School has been recognised for his entrepreneurial achievements and has received numerous awards and honors, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2016.

Wayfair, an e-commerce platform, sells home improvement products which includes furniture, decor and pillow, rugs, lighting, kitchen and tabletops, bed and bath, sofas, outdoor, renovation, appliances, mattresses, pets, closet, storage furniture, home improvement, and other products.

Meanwhile, Ambani regained his top spot as Asia’s richest person, and among newcomers who made it to the coveted list include 36-year-old Nikhil Kamath, who co-founded discount brokerage Zerodha with his older sibling Nithin Kamath (also a newcomer). The Bengaluru-based brothers are worth $1.1 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively.

Four people returned to the list this year after previously falling off, including Keshub Mahindra, chairman emeritus of Mahindra & Mahindra. The 99-year-old patriarch is the oldest Indian billionaire and has a net worth of $1.2 billion.

Twenty-three people from last year's list didn't make the cut this time, including metals magnate Anil Agarwal, who's weighed down by debt, and payments pioneer Vijay Shekhar Sharma, whose One97 Communications has seen its shares steadily fall since its IPO in late 2021 amid increasing competition for its Paytm payments app and prominent investors, such as SoftBank and Alibaba, paring their stakes.

Also Read: Mukesh Ambani, who owns Mumbai Indians, is world’s richest sports owner: Forbes 2023 list

Watch: Mukesh Ambani only Indian among Forbes billionaires 2023 top 10: Zerodha’s Nithin and Nikhil Kamath enter annual list

Watch: Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Subba Rao Jasti, Sam Bankman-Fried: Who fell off Forbes 2023 Billionaires list