Billionaire Narayana Murthy has presented shares in his company to a 4-month-old baby, sparking controversy on social media
Indian billionaire Narayana Murthy, the founder of the tech company Infosys, has gifted shares worth almost $30 million to his four-month-old grandson, Indian media reported on Monday, citing a stock exchange disclosure. The newborn is Murthy’s third grandchild; his others are the two daughters of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty.
A recent Infosys securities filing shows that Ekagrah Murthy, the child of the Infosys founder’s son Rohan, Akshata Murty’s brother, owns 150,000 shares of Infosys, amounting to a 0.04 percent stake in the company.
Infosys, which has a market capitalization of $81.52 billion as of March 15, and is the world’s 205th most valuable company.
According to Forbes, Narayana Murthy has an estimated net worth of $4.7 billion and is one of the wealthiest people in the country. Murthy’s daughter Akshata, the wife of UK PM Sunak, holds shares worth 1.05% of the total paid up capital of Infosys. Sunak and his wife have an estimated worth of about £529 million ($673 million), according to last year’s Sunday Times rich list.
The wife of the founder of Infosys, Sudha Murty, who was recently sworn in as a legislator in the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of India’s parliament), holds a 0.83% stake in the company.
The latest development has triggered a debate on social media as Murthy had recently suggested that young people in India should work at least 70 hours per week while lamenting the country’s “low work productivity.” At the time, many people criticized Murthy’s views and raised concerns about disparities in earnings and the struggle to maintain a work-life balance. They highlighted the stark contrast between the expectations of the country’s workforce and the corporate leaders who have profited from India’s emergence as a global player.
