He founded and, until his retirement in 2010, was the chairman of Jaypee Group, a conglomerate with a heavy emphasis on engineering and construction (particularly for infrastructure and power projects), cement, and hydropower production.
In 2012 he was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 70th-richest person in India, with an estimated net worth of US$855 million.
[4] His father was an agricultural inspector in the British government and worked as a serviceman in Beej Godam, Pakki Sarai at Anupshahr.
[6][9] Two decades later, he laid the foundation for the Jaypee Group by setting up Jaiprakash Associates, a civil engineering and construction company.
[9][10] To leave a secure government job and pursue contractorship in 1958, when it was considered to be most prestigious, required courage.