Portrait of Rakesh Gangwal

Rank #779

Rakesh Gangwal

Net worth $5.4B

Airline · United States

Born
Jul 25, 1953
Age
72
Source
Airline
Residence
Miami, Florida
Citizenship
United States
Marital status
Married
Children
1
Education
Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology; Master of Business Administration, University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School

Net worth over time

Biography

  • Airline veteran Rakesh Gangwal owes his fortune to InterGlobe Aviation, the parent outfit of budget airline IndiGo, India's largest by market share.
  • Gangwal started his airline career with United Airlines in 1984 and went on to run US Airways Group as its chief executive and chairman.
  • Gangwal cofounded IndiGo, headquartered outside Delhi, with Rahul Bhatia (also a billionaire) in 2006 with one aircraft.
  • The Miami resident resigned from the company's board in 2022 and said he would gradually sell his stock over the next five years.
  • Gangwal was named chairman of Southwest Airlines in November 2024. He resigned from that role in August 2025 but remains on the board.
  • The Indian-born mechanical engineer studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur before getting his M.B.A. at Wharton.
  • He and his wife paid $30 million for a Miami mansion that previously belonged to billionaire Charles Johnson.
  • Gangwal and IndiGo cofounder Bhatia had a bitter falling out in 2019 over corporate governance issues. Their dispute reached courts in London, Florida and Maryland.

Financial assets

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