This billionaire, an Indian, sold gifts for money, had more wealth than Mukesh Ambani, Adani, Ratan Tata, Azim Premji

The last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, is widely considered as the first billionaire of independent India and he was once regarded as the richest man in the world. Nizam’s rule ended in September 1948 and curbs were imposed by the Indian government on the sale of his personal properties. Mir Osman Ali Khan faced massive cash crunch after the end of his rule and that’s why he kept on finding new ways to get the money. Nizam Osman Ali Khan used to auction the costly gifts he had received during his lifetime to create the Pocket Money Trust to meet expenses of his two grandsons, Mukarram Jah and Mufakkam Jah.

"The silver Pandans and Ittardans etc. which were presented to me on special occasions during my 35 years of rule are of no use to me now and I intend to sell these silver articles in due course," the Nizam wrote to Hyderabad Chief Minister M.K. Vellodi on June 29, 1950.

After few months, Nizam Osman Ali Khan informed the Hyderabad government that he wanted to raise cash for the creation of the Pocket Money Trust. "I have decided to sell these silver articles in Hyderabad on a commission basis, through one or two reliable firms who deal in such articles," Mir Osman Ali Khan wrote in the letter.

After few months, Nizam Osman Ali Khan once again wrote a letter to Vellodi mentioning his desire to sell bunches of Bahrain pearls that he had purchased "8 to 9 years ago from a pearl merchant in Bombay". The Nizam highlighted in the letter that he could raise Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh from the auction.

Osman Ali Khan became the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1911. When India became independent on August 15, 1947 and Hyderabad was merged with India, he remained in this position till then. The total net worth of Nizam is considered to be USD 230 billion i.e. Rs 17.47 lakh crores. This means that Nizam Osman Ali was much richer than business tycoons Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani and others.