Falguni Nayar, an ex-investment banker, launched Nykaa in 2012, not long before she turned 50. Nine years later, the Mumbai-based beauty and fashion e-tailer became the first female-led unicorn to launch an IPO in India. Nykaa’s stock made a blockbuster debut on the stock market, listing at a premium of 79%. The company is now valued at $13 billion.
After the successful IPO, Nayar, who owns about half of Nykaa, saw her net worth jump to over $6.5 billion. She is now India’s richest self-made woman.
She took the title from Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, who founded biopharmaceutical firm Biocon. Shaw, India’s only self-made female billionaire until now, has a net worth of $3.6 billion.
Before the Nykaa IPO, India only had six female billionaries, with Savitri Jindal of steel and power conglomerate Jindal Group taking the top spot. The 71-year-old’s net worth is upwards of $18 billion.