Meet Binod Chaudhary, richest person of Nepal with net worth Rs 14,700 crore; owns 136 companies

Business tycoon-turned-politician Binod Chaudhary is the only billionaire of Nepal. His business empire spans across industries from banking, consumer goods, education to hotels, electronics, energy and medicine. Chaudhary is the Chairman of the Chaudhary Group, also called CG Corp Global. His conglomerate owns a mind-boggling 136 companies in over a dozen sectors.

Some of Chaudhary’s most famous brands are the ‘Wai Wai’ noodles which is also hugely popular in India and the Nabil Bank of Nepal. His company owns and operates as many as 143 hotels. These include several 5-star hotels in collaboration with the Taj Hotels chain of India.

Binod Chaudhary was born to a Marwari business family of Kathmandu but has Indian roots. His grandfather had migrated from Rajasthan to Nepal. His father holds the distinction for opening the first departmental store of Nepal. Chaudhary was the third-generation in a business family and was destined to join the family business but wanted to study further instead.

However, fate had other plans and Chaudhary had to give up his wish to study chartered accountancy in India after his father was diagnosed with a heart ailment. Binod stepped up and took over the reins of the business. In 1973, he opened Nepal’s most elite disco. He brought Wai Wai to Nepal in 1984. He also partnered with brands like Suzuki and Panasonic. He bought a controlling stake in Nabil Bank from the Dubai government in 1995. In 2023, Binod Chaudhary commands a net worth of over Rs 14,700 crore ($1.8 billion).

Chaudhary is a Bollywood fan and admires Amitabh Bachchan. His inspirations are legendary Indian businessman JRD Tata and iconic South African President Nelson Mandela. As a politician, Binod Chaudhary is a Member of the Parliament of Nepal. The 67-year-old has now handed over the reins of his business to three sons Nirvana, Rahul and Varun.