Cyrus S. Poonawalla

Cyrus S. Poonawalla (born in 1941) is an Indian billionaire businessman, and the chairman and managing director of the Cyrus Poonawalla Group, which includes the Serum Institute of India, an Indian biotech company which is the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world and Poonawalla Fincorp a leading NBFC in India.[1][2] In 2022, he is ranked as the 4th richest person in India on Forbes India rich list with a net worth of $24.3 billion.[3] He is ranked number 1 on the Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022.[4]

Cyrus S. Poonawalla
Adar Poonawalla and Cyrus Poonawalla
Poonawalla in 2015 (2nd from right)
Born1941 (1941) (age 82)
NationalityIndian
EducationBrihan Maharashtra College of Commerce
Occupation(s)Businessman, owner of Bilthoven Biologicals, Serum Institute of India, Poonawalla Fincorp
Years active1966 – present
Known forFounder of Serum Institute of India and owner of Poonawalla Group of Companies
Spouse
Villoo Poonawalla
​
(died 2010)​
ChildrenAdar Poonawalla
AwardsPadma Shri (2005), Padma Bhushan (2022)
Websitecyruspoonawalla.com

Early life and career

Cyrus Poonawalla was born in a Gujarati Parsi (Zoroastrian) family.[5] He is the son of Soli Poonawala, who was a horse breeder.

Poonawalla founded the Serum Institute of India in 1966 and built it to the largest vaccine manufacturer (by doses) in the world. Serum produces over 1.5 billion doses annually of a range of vaccines, including for measles, polio and flu.[6]

Personal life

Poonawalla was married to Villoo Poonawalla, who died in 2010.[7][8] They have a son, Adar, who currently works as the CEO of Serum Institute of India.[6] He has two grandchildren.

Awards

Philanthropy

In May 2019, it was reported that Poonawalla, in partnership with Naum Koen, had proposed supplying Ukraine with 100 thousand doses of the measles vaccine for free vaccination.[22][23]

References
  1. "Biography". Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  2. "Index". Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  3. "Forbes India Rich List 2021". Hindustan Times. 7 October 2021. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  4. "Hurun Report - Info - Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022". hurun.net.
  5. Thacker, Teena; Rajagopal, Divya. "Serum Institute founder Cyrus Poonawalla to keep some vaccine aside for Parsis". The Economic Times. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  6. "Cyrus Poonawalla". Forbes. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  7. Kapur, Shweta (8 June 2010). "Villoo Poonawalla passes away at 67". Pune Mirror. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  8. "Villoo Poonawalla's death leaves a void in racing". Racing Pulse. 14 June 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  9. "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2009)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2013.
  10. "Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla - Honours and Awards". www.cyruspoonawalla.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  11. "Padma-Winning Pune Man Becomes 1st Indian to Get 'Doctor of Humane Letters' Degree!". The Better India. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  12. "Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla conferred honorary degree by The University of Massachusetts Medical School - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  13. "Honorary degrees awarded at Encaenia 2019 | University of Oxford". www.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  14. "Honorary degree recipients for 2019 announced". The University of Oxford. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  15. "Oxford degree for Cyrus Poonawalla - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  16. "Bill Gates Confers ICMR Award to Dr.Cyrus Poonawalla". Punekar News. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  17. "SII chairman Cyrus Poonawalla named recipient of Lokmanya Tilak National Award". The Indian Express. 31 July 2021.
  18. Sharma, Ruchika. "SII chief Dr Cyrus S Poonawalla conferred Dean's Medal by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health". Medicaldialogues. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  19. "Padma awards announced, Padma Vibhushan to Gen Bipin Rawat, Kalyan Singh". The Indian Express. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  20. "Padma Awards, Government of India" (PDF). Padma Awards 2022.
  21. "Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla to be conferred with Padma Bhushan". 25 January 2022. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  22. Вергун, Костянтин (27 May 2019). "Patrons ready to support fight measles outbreak in Ukraine | Journalist.today". Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  23. "Обеспечить украинцев вакцинной от кори помогут меценаты". vesti-ukr.com. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
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