Karsanbhai Khodidas Patel (born 1945) is an Indian billionaire businessman, industrialist, and founder of the Nirma Group, a company with major business interests in cement, detergents, soaps and cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, packaging, and chemicals.
[3] Born in 1945 into a farmer family from Patan, Karsanbhai finished his BSc in Chemistry at age 21 and worked as a lab technician, first in the New Cotton Mills, Ahmedabad, of the Lalbhai group and then at the Geology and Mining Department of the state Government.
In 1969, Karsanbhai started selling detergent powder, manufactured and packaged in his backyard.
At the time, detergent and soap manufacture was dominated by multinational corporations with products like Surf by Hindustan Lever, priced around Rs.
In 1995, Karsanbhai started the Nirma Institute of Technology in Ahmedabad, which grew into a leading engineering college in Gujarat.
The Nirmalabs education project, aimed at training and incubating entrepreneurs, was launched in 2004.
[6] In 2001, Karsanbhai was awarded an honorary doctorate by Florida Atlantic University, recognizing his exceptional entrepreneurial and philanthropic accomplishments.
It was also reported by the Times of India on 7 June 2013 that he purchased a 400 million six-seater chopper.
[9] According to Forbes' list of India's 100 richest tycoons, dated October 9, 2024, Karsanbhai Patel is ranked 48th with a net worth of $6.05 billion.