The Mystery 'Hindu Monk' Who Built Himself A Billion-Dollar Empire

This man was a monk for 12 years, and now owns one of the most successful energy drink companies in the world. His current net worth is $4 billion. While names like Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai are endlessly abuzz in India, Manoj Bhargava is a name you wouldn’t have heard about much. His story will blow you away.
The Hindu Monk Who Built Himself A Billion Dollar Empire
Born in Lucknow in 1952, Manoj’s family moved to America in 1967. While the Bhargava family was living a lush life back in Lucknow, they landed pretty hard in West Philadelphia. With no tuition money but a great knack for math, Manoj won a full scholarship to one of the best schools in the country, the Hill School. The next stop was the prestigious Princeton University. Always hunting for opportunities and challenges, Bhargava was not one to stay put at the university, and neither the culture and nor the ‘math classes’ amuse him enough to do so. Eventually, he dropped out after a year, and with no regrets, joined his dad’s plastics company.     
The Hindu Monk Who Built Himself A Billion Dollar Empire
Two years out of university and into his dad’s business, Bharagava discovered an inclination towards Hinduism and Hindu saints dedicating their life to spiritual quest. In 1974, he moved to India and got himself associated with a commune called Hanslok. From there on, he spent 12 long years, almost his entire twenties, travelling to numerous monasteries and working odd jobs for the Ashram. He often mentions in his interviews that he mastered the art of ‘stilling the mind’ through meditation.
The Hindu Monk Who Built Himself A Billion Dollar Empire
While Bhargava took not-so-frequent and short-lived trips to America, he returned to the States for good at his father’s urging to help him with his plastics business. Despite having no interest in the business, Bhargava took his dad’s business’ turnout from almost zero sales to a $25 million turnover in less than a decade. Such was his business prowess!
The Hindu Monk Who Built Himself A Billion Dollar Empire
Coming out of a self-imposed retirement in 2003, Bhargava started a company called Living Essentials in 2004. He came up with the idea of energy drink manufacturing when he tried a drink that claimed to boost productivity for hours, at a natural products show. Six months later, Bhargava’s product, named 5-Hour Energy, was out in the market. He knew he was a small fish in a sea populated with killer sharks like Red Bull and Coke. So, instead of sharing fridge space with his competitors, he got his sales team to establish his product at the billing counters. Fast forward to 2015, the 5-hour energy drink has gone from nowhere to billions in retail sales, becoming one of the most sought-after natural energy drinks in the United States. And Bhargava, well, he’s easily the richest Indian in America, having taken the title from Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.

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