Ritesh Agarwal


Ritesh Agarwal is an Indian entrepreneur, billionaire and the founder and CEO of Oyo Rooms.

Early years

Ritesh Agarwal was born in Bissam Cuttack, in Odisha state, India and brought up in Titilagarh. At the age of 13, he started selling SIM cards. He graduated from St. Johns Senior Secondary School and moved to Delhi in 2011 for college. He dropped out of college, and was selected for the Peter Thiel Fellowship in 2013.

Career

Agarwal started a budget accommodation portal, Oravel Stays, for booking budget hotels. It was accepted into the accelerator program by Venture Nursery in September 2012, and later was one of the winners of the 2013 Thiel Fellowship program, receiving a grant of $100,000. The company was launched as OYO Rooms in May 2013.
By September 2018, the company raised $1 billion. In July 2019 it was reported that Agarwal purchased $2 billion in shares in the company, tripling his stake. His net worth in 2020 was estimated to be approximately $1.1 billion according to Hurun Rich List 2020. He is currently the second youngest self-made billionaire in the world.