Quote of the Day by Azim Premji: ‘If one has got much more than normal wealth...’       

“If one has been blessed or have been fortunate enough to have got much more than normal wealth, it is but natural that one expects a certain fiduciary responsibility in terms of how that wealth is applied, used and leveraged for purposes of society,” a quote by Azim Premji, Founding Chairman of Wipro.

Indian billionaire and philanthropist Azim Premji stated this during an interview published on June 17, 2010. Driven by this exact fiduciary philosophy, he went on to become the first Indian billionaire to sign The Giving Pledge in 2013, committing the majority of his wealth to societal progress.

Who is Azim Premji 

Azim Premji is an Indian tech magnate, investor, and one of the world's most prominent living philanthropists. Often referred to as the "Czar of the Indian IT Industry," he is best known for transforming Wipro Limited from a small family-run cooking oil business into a multi-billion-dollar global software and outsourcing giant.

In 1966, at age 21, Premji was forced to drop out of Stanford University following his father’s sudden death. He returned to India to take control of the family firm, Western Indian Vegetable Products Ltd. He expanded the business from consumer care (shortening, soaps, and lighting) into industrial engineering. In 1977, he renamed the firm Wipro.

When the Indian government expelled IBM in 1979, Premji seized the opportunity, steering Wipro directly into the emerging computer hardware and software market.

Under his leadership across four decades, Wipro evolved into a premier global IT outsourcing enterprise spanning over 60 countries. In 2019, he stepped down as executive chairman, handing the leadership to his son, Rishad Premji.

When was this quote said by Azim Premji   

The quote originated from an extensive Big Think Interview with Azim Premji in 2010. During the session, the Wipro Limited chairman discussed the fundamental duty of giving back to the community. He expanded on how excessive personal fortunes should be handled with a sense of stewardship rather than ownership.

Later that same year, he transferred close to $2 billion worth of Wipro shares to the Azim Premji Foundation to improve rural education across India

What does this quote mean?

Premji acknowledges that extreme wealth is rarely the result of pure hard work alone. It involves a massive amount of luck, timing, and societal opportunity.

In finance, a fiduciary is a trustee who legally and ethically manages someone else's money. Premji uses this term metaphorically. He believes billionaires are merely "trustees" of their wealth, holding it on behalf of the public.