Who Is Nikhil Kamath — the Man Behind PM Modi’s Debut Podcast

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his debut on a podcast interview on Friday. He featured on Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, ‘People’ by WTF. “This is my first appearance on a podcast. I’m not sure how your viewers will respond,” Modi said after Kamath expressed how significant it was for him to have this dialogue with the Prime Minister. Earlier this week, Kamath had sparked curiosity by sharing a cryptic teaser on X, hinting at the upcoming conversation.

Who is Nikhil Kamath?

Nikhil Kamath is the co-founder of Zerodha, a leading discount brokerage firm he established in 2010 alongside his elder brother, Nithin Kamath.

Apart from Zerodha, Nikhil is associated with other ventures, such as True Beacon and Gruhas. Based in Bengaluru, Zerodha caters to more than 10 million clients, positioning itself as one of India’s top brokerage platforms, as reported by Forbes.

The Kamath brothers, both billionaires, hold the majority of shares in the company. Zerodha currently manages assets worth over ₹5.6 lakh crore and reported an annual profit of more than ₹4,700 crore for FY24. In terms of market share, it ranks second after Groww, a platform introduced in 2016, according to B&K Securities data.

In 2024, Forbes listed Nikhil Kamath among the world’s billionaires, with a net worth of $3 billion. His brother Nithin also appeared in Forbes’ 2024 list of India’s 100 richest individuals.

Nikhil, who serves as Zerodha’s Chief Financial Officer, also founded the WTF Fund, an initiative to back entrepreneurs under 22 years old working in industries such as beauty, fashion, and home decor.

Nithin Kamath, on the other hand, has a background in trading and finance and holds an engineering degree from the Bangalore Institute of Technology. He currently serves as Zerodha’s CEO.

Notably, Nikhil is the youngest Indian to join The Giving Pledge, an initiative by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett encouraging billionaires to donate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.

In 2023, Nikhil donated ₹120 crore to the Rainmatter Foundation, earning him recognition as one of India’s leading philanthropists. That same year, Nikhil and Nithin Kamath featured in the Hurun Philanthropy List for their contribution of ₹110 crore towards combating climate change and promoting environmental initiatives.

From School Dropout to Billionaire: Kamath's Inspiring Journey 

In a conversation with LinkedIn’s global CEO Ryan Roslansky last year, Nikhil Kamath shared how his setbacks became invaluable lessons in his journey to success.

“I believe every lesson I’ve learned has come through failure,” Nikhil had said.

“Success, in my opinion, does little beyond fostering an environment where complacency can easily take root.”

Roslansky later shared Kamath’s inspiring journey in a LinkedIn post. He described how Nikhil, as a school dropout, took a night-shift job at a call center—a role that would be disheartening for many.

While working in customer service, Nikhil began teaching himself stock trading. His manager, impressed by his knack for investments, entrusted him with handling his portfolio. Soon, Nikhil was managing investments for his entire team, earning commissions that far exceeded his regular salary.

“This marked a pivotal moment in what would become a groundbreaking journey through India’s financial sector. To this day, Nikhil challenges traditional norms and empowers individuals to take control of their financial decisions,” read the LinkedIn post.

PM Modi's Podcast Debut

In the over two-hour podcast, which touched on different issues, PM Modi described himself as an ordinary student in school who studied merely to pass the exam but participated in different activities and was always curious.

"My struggles have been the university which has taught me," he said, noting that his father did not allow him to apply for admission in a sainik school due to lack of money. He, however, was never disappointed, he stated. 

Asserting that he has never confined himself to a comfort zone, Modi said his risk-taking ability has hardly been utilised. "My risk-taking ability is several times more," he said, adding that it was because he never bothered about himself.

In his third term, he said he felt more emboldened and his dreams have widened. In first two terms, he used to judge his work by the progress it has made since he began. "Now my thoughts are in the context of Viksit Bharat by 2047," he added.

Modi said his thrust on "minimum government maximum government" was misinterpreted by some people who thought it meant fewer ministers or government employees. It was never his concept, he said, noting he created separated ministries such as for skill development and fisheries.

It was about cutting down on lengthy official processes, he said, citing the ending of over 40,000 compliances and repeal of over 1,500 laws as steps in that direction.