Introduction
Everyone who's leading a good life should consider themselves lucky. Many people don't know what it's like to be poor in India. However, when people from this section of society make it to the top, it's literally a eureka moment for them. Now famous, Ramesh Babu too was once a poor man. He quickly climbed the ladder of success with his determination and hard work.
Ramesh Babu is India's 'Billionaire Barber'. Ramesh Babu owns more than 400 cars, most of them from luxury brands like BMW, Jaguar, and even Rolls Royce. Here's all you need to know about India's 'Billionaire Barber' Ramesh Babu:
Who is Ramesh Babu Barber?
Ramesh Babu Barber wasn’t born with a silver spoon unlike most of the billionaires of this generation. Ramesh Babu’s father, P Gopal, who was a barber in Bangalore, died when he was just 7-years-old. With absolutely no savings, all he left behind for his wife and three kids was a small barbershop on Bridged road, Bengaluru.
After the sudden demise of her husband, Ramesh Babu’s mother was left heartbroken and penniless and had to work as a servant to help feed her children and give them a decent living. Ramesh Babu’s mother earned perhaps Rs 40 to Rs 50 per month that was used for everything, including clothes, books, fees, and everything.
Ramesh Babu Barber's Awe-inspiring journey
Ramesh Babu, a 'Billionaire Barber' grew up on one meal a day. After the death of Ramesh Babu's father, his mother could not run the barbershop and she rented it out for Rs 5 a day. Ramesh Babu did odd jobs during his childhood to support his mother to make a little extra money. Ramesh Babu started part-time newspaper delivery work, milk home delivery and whatever else was convenient at age of 13 to support his family.
Turning Point of Billionaire barber: Ramesh Babu
After his tenth class, Ramesh Babu decided to run his father’s shop instead of continuing his education. The salon was called ‘Inner Space’ and was in a shopping complex near the school where he studied. It soon became a trendy styling outlet.
Barber Ramesh Babu wanted to do something, so he planned to buy a car. Ramesh Babu saved some money from his salon and bought a Maruti Van (Omni) car from his little savings and own hard-earned money with the help of his uncle in 1993. Since it ended up being idle most of the time as he was busy in his barbershop, he decided to put it out on rent when it was not in use. Little did he know that this was going to one day make him a billionaire!
Ramesh Babu received his first business contract from Intel through a family for whom his mother worked since he was a child. As he slowly but steadily gathered a sizable customer base, Ramesh realised the potential of operating a high-end automobile rental service and began to build a fleet of cars.
Which cars does barber Ramesh Babu have?
In 2004, he got into the luxury car rental and self-drive business after the government opened up the tourism sector. Ramesh Tours and Travels hasn't looked back since.
Ramesh Babu first invested in a luxury car was Mercedes E Class luxury sedan that cost him Rs 38 lakh. The fleet grew with three more Mercedes cars and four BMWs, which is, however, dominated by dozens of Toyota Innovas. At the moment his fleet consists of around 400 cars, vans and mini-buses, including imported vehicles a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, Mercedes C, E and S class and BMW 5, 6 and 7 series. He has a fleet of imported Mercedes vans and Toyota mini-buses.
