Meet IIT alumnus right-hand man of world’s 5th richest billionaire with net worth Rs 971500 crore

From a salesman in India, Odisha-born Ajit Jain made a name himself as the "Warren Buffett of Insurance". The top executive who "probably made more money" for Berkshire Hathaway than the legendary investor himself is one of the most well-respected Indian business leaders in the US today.

Ajit Jain is Vice Chairperson, Insurance Ops at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. During the recent Berkshire AGM, Buffett called the hiring of Jain as nothing short of having struck gold. Ajit Jain walked into Buffett's office back in 1986. Years later he was one of the men on the shortlist to succeed the 92-year-old. Buffett has called Jain irreplaceable in the past.

Who is Ajit Jain?

The 71-year-old was born in a small town called Sundargarh in Odisha. He did schooling in Cuttack and then earned a BTech degree from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. Jain started his career as a salesman for tech giant IBM but reportedly lost his job after just 3 years.

He then went on to earn an MBA degree and worked for McKinsey & Company before joining and eventually leading Buffett’s reinsurance empire. In 2018, he was elevated as vice chairman. As per a 2021 Forbes report, Jain owned $185 million worth of shares of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

In Buffett’s own words, “Ajit came to Berkshire in 1986. Very quickly, I realised we had acquired an extraordinary talent. So I did the logical thing: I wrote to his parents in New Delhi and asked if they had another one like him at home. Of course, I knew the answer before writing. There isn’t anyone like Ajit.”